rfi^'ra'ilg'' -T) /y^»^'ii''!p<HM 



m 




WILLIAM D.NORTHEND 



IIIIIIIIHIIIilll 




Copyriglit)^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE BAY COLONY. 




'^^^^^: \\/^>i^hm'U: 



THE BAY COLONY 



A CIVIL, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL HISTORY 
OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONY 



SETTLEMENTS FROM THE LANDING AT CAPE ANN IN 

1624 TO THE DEATH OF GOVERNOR 

WINTHROP IN 1650 



BY 

WILLIAM DUMMER NORTHEND, LL. D. 



^ 



BOSTON --/^ 
ESTES AND LAURIAT 

PUBLISHERS 




^^3y,j3-B^' 






Copyright, 1896 
By William D. Northend 



Colonial ^ress: 

C. H. Simonds & Co.. Boston. Mass., U. S. A. 
Electrotyped by Geo. C. Scott & Sons 



TO 
S. S. N. 



INTRODUCTION. 

" I "HE early history of Massachusetts is a subject 
of intense interest to its people, and to the 
many scattered throughout the United States who 
are of Massachusetts lineage. 

The causes which led to its settlement ; the char- 
acter of the men who laid the foundation stones ; 
the governments they instituted ; the provisions 
they made for religious worship and for the educa- 
tion of the people cannot be too often adverted to 
or studied. 

As there are many facts of this period which 
have not been fully developed, and as writers upon 
it have differed in some important particulars, it 
has seemed to me that a history of the period, pre- 
pared from the records and other accepted author- 
ities, would be of value. I have, accordingly, writ- 
ten this work with special reference to the subjects 
stated on the title-page. Yet the subjects named 
are so interwoven with the general history of the 
time, that it has been necessary to incorporate 
much of it in the work, as illustrating and explain- 
ing the main topics of investigation. 



IN TROD UC TION. 



In passing upon the acts and opinions of men 
who Hved three centuries ago, it should be borne in 
mind that since that time the world has advanced 
fast and far, so that it would be very unjust to judge 
them by any standard of the present day. Some 
conception of the extent of this advance can be 
gathered from the great change in opinion upon 
important subjects made within the lifetime of many 
now living. The acts of the fathers of this Com- 
monwealth are to be judged by comparison with the 
acts of the best and wisest men of that period in 
other countries. Applying this test, I believe the 
men who settled Massachusetts will not suffer in 
the comparison. 

The author desires to express his obligations to 
Mr. William P. Upham and to Mr. Theodore M. 
Osborne for advice and suggestions in the prepara- 
tion of this work, and to Mrs. Mary E. Nevins for 
valuable assistance in its revision. 
Jtuie, i8g6. 



CONTENTS. 

Introductory Chapter .... ^^^^ 

CHAPTER I. 
Foundation of the Colony 

CHAPTER II. 

The Company in England . ,< 

56 

CHAPTER III. 

The Beginning under Winthrop 

' . . 72 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Defiance of the King. — Trouble with Roger 
Williams . 

99 

CHAPTER V. 
Sir Harry Vane, Governor J22 

CHAPTER VI. 

Anne Hutchinson 

132 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Pequot War 

153 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Close of Controversies with the King; Meeting of 
THE Long Parliament; Its Effects upon Emigra- 
tion AND UPON THE COLONISTS. JURISDICTION OVER 

THE New Hampshire Towns and Springfield . 163 



VIU CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Towns, Schools, and Social Conditions . . . 184 

CHAPTER X. 
The Body of Liberties. — Courts and Laws . . 194 

CHAPTER XL 
The Confederation 217 

CHAPTER XIL 
Samuel Gorton 228 

CHAPTER XIIL 
De La Tour and D'Aulnay 234 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Dispute between the Assistants and the Depu- 
ties. — Disaffection in Essex County. — Trouble 
in Hingham 240 

CHAPTER XV. 
Massachusetts Congregationalism in England . . 258 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Friendly Relations between Massachusetts and the 
Long Parliament 271 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Cambridge Platform 285 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Beginnings of Witchcraft in the Colony, and Death 

OF WiNTHROP 297 

APPENDIX. 
The Charter of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 

1629 305 



THE BAY COLONY. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 

A HISTORY of the Massachusetts Bay Colony would 
be incomplete without a reference to the several set- 
tlements made within the present limits of Massachusetts 
before the settlement at Cape Ann ; and to the character- 
istics of the different classes of settlers before their emi- 
gration, especially in their religious views. 

It is difficult at the present day to realize the intensity 
of the religious convictions which governed the people of 
the mother country in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries. 

Much progress had been made in the great Reforma- 
tion when Parliament, under Henry VIII., early in the 
sixteenth century, divorced the national Church from the 
Roman See, and substituted the reigning sovereign for 
the Pope of Rome, as its head. This act gave much sat- 
isfaction to the reformers. 

But little change, however, was made except in the head 
of the Church, and most of the forms and ceremonies of 
the Roman Church were retained, a result which caused 



2 THE BAY COLONY. 

great disappointment to the large numbers of the people 
who were zealous for a thorough reformation in ecclesias- 
tical matters, and who were known as nonconformists, but 
in derision were called Puritans. They did not object to 
the doctrines of the national Church, and proposed no revo- 
lutionary action against it. They only desired and strove 
for reformation within the Church. It was the almost 
universal conviction of the English people that it was 
not compatible with the peace and safety of Church or 
Commonwealth that there should be different church 
establishments within the realm ; and it is questionable 
to-day, whether, with the intensity of religious enthusiasm 
that existed, they were not correct in this. Toleration 
came, and was maintained, only when the religious zeal of 
the time abated. 

So strong was the feeling of the reformers against the 
obnoxious forms and ceremonies of the Church, that many 
declined to observe them, and large numbers of the clergy 
refused to conform to them in their service. This called 
for laws to enforce attendance at church, and the observ- 
ance of all its forms and ceremonies. As a result, hun- 
dreds of the clergy were dismissed from their livings, or 
"silenced," as it was called. The nonconformists regarded 
the forms and ceremonies as the inventions of men, not 
authorised by Scripture, and sinful to observe. 

In the reign of Elizabeth, there sprang up a sect known 
as the Separatists, or Brownists, from the name of its 
founder. Its members defied the national Church, declar 
ing that it was no true church, and that it " was sinful and 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 3 

wrong to attend its worshipping assemblies, or hear the 
preaching of the Word of God therein." This sect was 
opposed by conformists and nonconformists alike ; and 
they united in Parliament in the passage of severe laws 
against all who should refuse to acknowledge the suprem- 
acy of the national Church. 

These laws were strictly enforced, and in 1608 a com- 
pany of Separatists in Scrooby, in the north of England, 
finding they could not continue their form of worship in 
safety, expatriated themselves and went first to Amster- 
dam, and afterwards to Leyden, in Holland ; where they 
were, from time to time, joined by others. They were 
known as the Pilgrims. In 1620 a portion of them emi- 
grated from Leyden, and settled in what is now the town 
of Plymouth. 

A brief reference to some of the principal historical 
facts of this settlement is rendered important by the fact 
that historians have confounded, to a considerable extent, 
its history with that of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

About the year 161 7, the Pilgrims at Leyden resolved 
to remove to some new country where they could consti- 
tute a community by themselves. Their attention was 
first called to Guiana, but they feared the climate was not 
suited to them. Afterwards, they concluded to emigrate 
to America, if they could procure a patent, the consent of 
King James, and aid from England ; as they had not suffi- 
cient means for the undertaking. To promote these ends, 
a written statement, consisting of seven articles, was pre- 
pared and signed by John Robinson, the pastor, and 



4 THE BAY COLONY. 

William Brewster, the elder of the Pilgrim Church, some- 
what inconsistent with their professions of separation. 
The statement is as follows : * 

" I . To the confession of faith published in the name of the 
Church of England, and to every article thereof, we do with the 
reformed churches wliere we live, and also elsewhere, assent 
wholly. 

" 2. As we do acknowledge the doctrine of faith there taught, 
so do we the fruits and effects of the same doctrine to the begetting 
of saving faith in thousands in the land (conformist and reformists as 
they are called), witli whom also, as witli our brethren, we do desire 
to keep spiritual communion in peace, and will practise in our parts 
all lawful things. 

"3. The King's Majesty we acknowledge for supreme governor 
in his dominion in all causes and over all persons, and that none 
jaay decline or appeal from his authority or judgment in any cause 
whatsoever, but that in all things obedience is due unto him, either 
active, if the thing commanded be not against God's word, or 
passive, if it be, except pardon can be obtained. 

"4. We judge it lawful for His Majesty to appoint bishops, 
civil overseers, or officers in authority under him, in the several 
provinces, dioceses, congregations or parishes, to oversee the 
churches and govern them civilly according to the laws of the land, 
unto whom they are in all things to give account, and by them to 
be ordered according to Godliness. 

"5. The authority of the present bishops in the land we do 
acknowledge, so far forth as the same is indeed derived from His 
Majesty unto them and as they proceed in his name, whom we will 
also therein honour in all things and him in them. 

"6. We believe that no synod, class, convocation, or assembly 
of ecclesiastical officers hath any power or authority at all, but as the 
same by the magistrate given unto them. 

* Colonial papers, 161 8. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 5 

" 7. Lastly, we desire to give unto all superiors due honour, to 

preserve the unity of the spirit with all that fear God, to have peace 

with all men what in us lieth, and wherein we are to be instructed 

by any. 

" Subscribed by 

"John Robinson 

and 

*' William Brewster." 

An application was made to King James to grant them 
"freedom of religion," which he refused. "Yet thus far 
they prevailed, in sounding His Majesty's mind, that he 
would connive at them and not molest them, provided 
they carried themselves peaceably. But to allow or 
tolerate them by his public authority, under his seal, 
they found it would not be." * 

An application was also made to the Council for 
Virginia for a patent. A reply addressed to Robinson 
and Brewster was made by Sir Edwin Sandys, for the 
Council, in which he writes : " The agents of your con- 
gregation, Robert Cushman and John Carver, have been 
in communication with divers select gentlemen of His 
Majesty's Council for Virginia ; and, by the writing of 
seven articles, subscribed with your names, have given 
them that good degree of satisfaction, which has carried 
them on with a resolution to set forward your desire in 
the best sort that may be for your own and the public's 
good." He further writes, that "they have requested 
further time to confer with them that are to be inter- 
ested in this action."! 

* Bradford, 29. t Bradford, 30. 



6 THE BAY COLONY. 

Afterwards, further explanation was desired by some 
members of the Council, evidently in regard to the rela- 
tion of the Pilgrim Church to the French reformed 
churches, with which churchmen in England were in 
sympathy.* Robinson and Brewster replied, in a letter 
of date January 27, 16 17, that they agreed generally with 
the French reformed churches, " though some small dif- 
ferences be to be found in our practices, not at all in the 
substance of the things, but only in some accidental cir- 

* In 1 598, Henry IV. of France issued the Edict of Nantes, which 
recognised the reformed churches and authorised their worship in freedom 
in all places in which they had been established, with full amnesty to all 
members charged with offences against the established church ; subject to 
certain conditions, the principal of which were : that they should observe the 
appointed festivals of the Roman Catholic Church and refrain from work 
on their days; that they should pay the regular tithes to the established 
church, but might raise money for their own clergy ; that public religious 
meetings should only be held in established houses of worship ; that 
religious exercises, without limit of the numbers in attendance, might be 
held in the house of a lord or noble, but only in the presence of the lord 
or noble — that all others might have religious exercises at home, but 
should never have more than thirty persons at one time present ; and that 
they should obey the laws of the Roman Catholic Church with respect to 
consanguinity and relationship of parties making marriage contracts. 

Subject to these conditions, the members of the reformed churches 
were to be in every respect, in the enjoyment of rights and privileges, on 
an equality with members of the established church. Careful provisions 
were made to protect them in the enjoyment of such rights and privileges. 
In all suits at law the members of the reformed churches were to have one- 
half the judges of their own faith; and liberal provisions for challenge of 
judges were made. The Edict remained in force for nearly a century. 
The members of the French reformed churches were styled Huguenots, 
intended as a name of reproach. The origin of the name is not known. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 7 

cumstances," some of which they mentioned. In the reply 
they write : " The oath of supremacy we shall willingly 
take if it be required of us, and that convenient satisfac- 
tion be not given by our taking the oath of allegiance." * 

The significance of these declarations is seen from the 
fact that the members of the Council for Virginia, and of 
the company they relied upon for aid, were members of 
the English Church ; and could not be expected to give 
aid and encouragement to professed Separatists. 

No action seems to have been taken by the Council for 
Virginia until 1619. 

In the spring of 16 19, Cushman and Brewster were 
sent to England, in the words of Bradford, "to end with 
the Virginia Company as well as they could, and to pro- 
cure a patent with as good and ample conditions as they 
might by any good means obtain, as also to treat and con- 
clude with such merchants and other friends as had mani- 
fested their forwardness to provoke to, and adventure in 
this voyage." f 

A patent was issued, by the advice of friends, to one 
John Wincob, instead of to the company, he intending to 
go with them. He did not go, the patent was never used, 
and its date and provisions are unknown. February 16, 
1619, another patent was issued to John Pierce and his 
associates. This was never used. J Thomas Weston, 

* Bradford, 34, 35. t Ibid, 30. 

% Pierce obtained, in 1621 and in 1622, other patents from the Council 
for New England; which in 1620 received a charter from the king, super- 
seding the charter of the Council for Virginia. These patents were never 
used. 



8 THE BAY COLONY. 

representing the company in London which was to furnish 
the means, proceeded to Leyden and conferred with Rob- 
inson and others, and advised immediate preparations for 
their departure. An agreement was drawn up and 
approved by Weston and by the Pilgrims, of date July i, 
1620. The agreement provided that every one who went 
over should have an interest in the project ; that every- 
thing should be carried on in common for seven years — 
" the capital and profits, viz. : the houses, lands, goods, 
and chattels be equally divided among the adventurers." 
It was also provided in the articles of agreement that the 
houses and improved lands should belong to the planters 
at the end of seven years, and that the planters have two 
days of each week for their own private employment. 
This provision was subsequently stricken out.* 

Preparations for departure were immediately com- 
menced. The provision made for the voyage was insuffi- 
cient for the emigration by the Pilgrims as a body, and 
probably it was not considered by them desirable for all to 
go at one time. It was agreed that "the youngest and 
strongest part " should go, and those who desired to go 
should offer themselves. The minor part only offered to 
go.f It was probably intended that those who went 
should act as pioneers, and make preparation for the 
migration of the rest. J It was further agreed that Rob- 

* Young's Chron. of the Pilgrims, S2-85. 
t Ibid, 383. 

X Of those who went, " Bradford and Brewster alone are ascertained to 
have been members of the Scrooby congregation." Palfrey, I. 160. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 9 

inson should remain in Leyden with the majority, and that 
the emigrants should be placed under the charge of 
Brewster, the ruling elder. 

After much delay, the company, consisting of one hun- 
dred and two persons, set sail from Plymouth, England, 
in the Mayfloiver, September 6, 1 620, and arrived at Cape 
Cod, November 11 o. s., 21 n. s. 

They embarked without a patent, and apparently with- 
out any definite place of destination. 

Explorations were made, and December 20 o. s., 30 
n. s., Plymouth or New Plymouth, as it was then called, 
was decided upon for their settlement, and immediately 
after they commenced the building of houses. The first 
house built was about twenty feet square, called the " com- 
mon house." It was finished and occupied in January. 
The same month, " the house was as full of beds as they 
could lie one by another." * 

Of those who came over in the Mayfloiucr, a portion, 
who had no sympathy with the Pilgrims in their religious 
views, were sent by the London Company. 

The precise number of these is not known, yet it was 
so large, " it was thought meet and convenient by them in 
Holland that these strangers that were to go with them 
should appoint one thus to be joined with them {i.e., 
Carver and Cushman previously appointed to oversee the 
purchases for the voyage), not so much for any great need 
of their help, as to avoid all suspicion or jealousy of any 
partiality." f How far these " strangers " were responsible 

* Young's Chron. of the Pilgrims, 167, 178. t Bradford, 56. 



lO THE BAY COLONY. 

for the lack of unity shown on the voyage, is not known. 
In Bradford and Winslow's Journal, known as " Mourt's 
Relation," it is stated, "This day (November ii), before 
we came to harbour, observing some not well affected to 
unity and concord, but gave some appearance of faction, it 
was thought good there should be an association and 
agreement, that we should combine together in one body, 
and to submit to such government and governors as we 
should by common consent agree to make and choose, and 
set our hands to this that follows, word for word."* Then 
follows the compact, as it is styled. We give in a note 
the comments of Dr. Young, compiler of Young's Chron- 
icles of the Pilgrims, on the compact. f 

There seems to have been no change in the mode of 
worship at Plymouth from that practised in Leyden. 
This caused great dissatisfaction among the members of 
the London Company ; and they sent over one John 
Lyford, an Episcopal clergyman, to take charge of the 

* Young's Chron. of the Pilgrims, 120. 

t " Here for the first time in the world's history, the philosophical fiction 
of a social compact was realised in practice. And yet it seems to me that 
a great deal more has been discerned in this document than the signers 
contemplated. It is evident, from p. 95. that when they left Holland, they 
expected ' to become a body politic, using amongst themselves civil govern- 
ment, and to choose their own rulers from among themselves.' Their pur- 
pose in drawing up and signing this compact, was simply, as they state, to 
restrain certain of their number, who had manifested an unruly and fac- 
tious disposition. This was the whole philosophy of the instrument, what- 
ever may since have been discovered and deduced from it by astute 
civilians, philosophical historians, and imaginative orators." Young's 
Chron. of the Pilgrims, 1 20, n. 



INTR OD UC TOR Y CHA P TER. 1 1 

congregation. He came over with Winslow in the 
CJiarity, and arrived in March, 1624. 

Cushman, in a letter dated January 24, 1623, wrote, 
referring to Lyford, "Mr. Winslow and myself gave way to 
his going to give content to some here." * Bradford 
refers to "the minister, Mr. John Lyford, whom a faction 
of the adventurers send, to hinder Mr. Robinson." f 

Robinson, in a letter to Brewster dated December 20, 
1623, which was brought over by Winslow, speaks of a 
determination by members of the London Company to 
prevent his coming over, and says, "A notable experiment 
of this, they gave in your messenger's presence, constrain- 
ing the company to promise that none of the money now 
gathered should be expended or employed to the help of 
any of us towards you." 

In the same letter, he says, " Now touching the question 
propounded by you, I judge it not lawful for you, being a 
ruling elder, as Rom. XIL, 7, 8, and I Tim. V., 17, opposed 
to the elders that teach and exhort and labour in the word 
and doctrine, to which the sacraments are annexed, to 
administer them, nor convenient if it were lawful." J 

It was one of the principal complaints made by the 
London Company that the congregation had no minister 
to administer the sacraments, and that none had been 
administered during the three years the company had 
been at Plymouth. § 

* Bradford, 160. t Morton's Memorial, in. t Bradford, 166, 167. 
§ No sacraments were administered in the Plymouth Church until the 
settlement of Ralph Smith as its minister, in 1629. 



12 THE BAY COLONY. 

Within a few months after Lyford's arrival, upon sus- 
picion that letters, written by him and by one Oldham to 
their friends in England, contained unfriendly representa- 
tions of the state of affairs in Plymouth, the governor 
went on board the ship in which the letters were to be 
taken over, opened the letters and retained some, substi- 
tuting copies of them, and of others he took copies. 

Bradford says many of the letters were "large" and 
" full of slanders and false accusations, tending not only to 
their prejudice but to their ruin and utter subversion." * 
This proceeding was kept secret for several weeks. The 
reason given was, " to let things ripen that they might 
the better discover their intents and see who were their 
adherents. And the rather because amongst the rest they 
found a letter of one of their confederates, in which was 
written that Mr. Oldham and Mr. Lyford intended a 
reformation in Church and Commonwealth ; and, as soon 
as the ship was gone, they intended to join together and 
have the sacraments, etc." "And thinking they were now 
strong enough, they began to pick quarrels at everything." 
" But to cut things short, at length it grew to this issue, 
that Lyford with his accomplices without ever speaking 
one word either to the governor, church or elder, with- 
drew themselves and set up a public meeting apart on the 
Lord's day." Upon this the governor called a meeting of 
the whole company, and made charges against Lyford and 
Oldham, and produced and read the letters and copies 
obtained on board the ship, upon which they were con- 

* Bradford, 173. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. I 3 

victed, and " the court censured them to be expelled the 
place ; Oldham presently, though his wife and family had 
liberty to stay all winter, or longer till he could make 
provision to remove them comfortably. Lyford had 
liberty to stay six months." * 

Oldham, with some associates, returned without leave 
in March succeeding. He made much disturbance by 
blustering threats, and was finally taken by force to the 
waterside, where a boat was ready to take him off. f 
Lyford, having given no satisfaction within the six months 
he was allowed to remain, was banished, when he went 
with some of his friends to Nantasket, to which place 
Oldham had preceded him. Charges of gross immorality 
were made against Lyford before he left, which were 
probably, at the least, exaggerated, as immediately after 
his banishment he was invited by Mr. White, who was 
influential in the settlement at Cape Ann, to go as minis- 
ter to that place, which he did, and remained until the 
company there removed to Naumkeag, giving great satis- 
faction, and when he left to go to Virginia many of the 
company desired to go with him. Bradford says : " This 
storm being thus blown over, yet sundry sad effects 
followed the same, for the company of adventurers broke 
in pieces hereupon, and the greatest part wholly deserted 
the colony in regard of any further supplys or care of 
their subsistence. And not only so, but some of Lyford's 
and Oldham's friends and their adherents set out a ship 
on fishing on their own account, and getting the start of 

*Bradford, 174, 175, 176, 182. t Ibid, 189, 190. 



14 THE BA V COLONY. 

the ships that came to the plantation, they took away 
their stage and other necessary provisions that they had 
made for fishing at Cape Ann the year before, at their 
great charge, and would not restore the same except they 
would fight for it. But the governor sent some of the 
planters to help the fisherman to build a new one, and so 
let them keep it." * 

" Also by this ship f they, some of them, sent (in the 

* Bradford, 196. 

An amusing account of this transaction is given by Hubbard, probably 
obtained by him from Conant, as they were contemporaries. He says that 
in 1624, the Plymouth people built a fishing stage at Cape Ann, — that the 
next year they went there under the charge of Standish to cure fish, and 
found the stage occupied by a Mr. Hewes, employed by some of the west 
country merchants. Standish demanded possession of it, which was 
refused ; that, " The dispute grew to be very hot, and high words were 
passed between them which might have ended in blows, if not in blood and 
slaughter, had not the prudence and moderation of Mr. Roger Conant, at 
that time there present, and Mr. Pierse's interposition, that lay just by 
with his ship, timely prevented. For Mr. Hewes had barricaded his 
company with hogsheads on the stagehead, while the demandants stood 
upon the land, and might easily have been cut off ; but the ship's crew, by 
advise, promising to help them build another, the difference was thereby 
ended. Captain Standish had been bred a soldier in the Low Countries 
and never entered the school of our Saviour Christ, or of John Baptist, 
his harbinger, or if he was ever there, had forgot his first lessons, to offer 
violence to no man, and to part with the cloak rather than needlessly 
contend for the coat, though taken away without order. A little chimney 
is soon fired ; so was the Plymouth captain, a man of very little stature, 
yet of a very hot and angry temper. The fire of his passion soon kindled 
and blown up into a flame by hot words, might easily have consumed all, 
had it not been seasonably quenched." Hubbard, no. 

t By this ship is intended the ship sent over by " some of Lj-ford's and 
Oldham's friends." 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. I 5 

name of the rest)* certain reasons of their breaking off 
from the plantation," Two are given. 

" First. Reason they charged them for dissembling 
with His Majesty in their petition, and with the adventurers 
about the French discipline, etc." 

" Secondly, for receiving a man into their church, that 
in his confession renounced all, universal, national and 
diocesan churches, etc., by which (say they) it appears, 
that though they deny the name of Brovvnists, yet they 
practise the same, etc. And, therefore, they should sin 
against God in building up such a people."! 

A compromise was made with the London Company in 
1627, and all connection between the company and the 
people of Plymouth under the original contract was dis- 
solved.J 

Upon an application to the Council for New England, a 
patent was granted, of date January 13, i629,§ to 
William Bradford and " his heirs, associates, and assigns," 
of territory including what are now Bristol, Barnstable, 
and a large part of Plymouth Counties, known as the Old 
Colony. The patent also granted fifteen miles on each 
side of the Kennebec, including what is now the city of 
Augusta, for trading purposes. || 

The patent gave only title to the land. A strong effort 
was made to obtain from the King, Charles I., a charter 
with powers of government, which failed. An unsuc- 

* The London Company. § January 13, 1630, n. s. 

t Bradford, 197. || Plymouth Colony laws, Brigham ed, 

X Ibid, 212-232. 21-26. 



1 6 THE BAY COLONY. 

cessful attempt was also made to obtain from Charles II. 
the desired charter. 

In March, 1640, Bradford assigned the patent to the 
people of Plymouth, reserving to himself, with their con- 
sent, a tract of land.* 

The officers of the government of Plymouth consisted 
of a governor and one assistant, until 1624, when four 
assistants were added ; and in 1633 the number was in- 
creased to seven. They were elected annually. All mat- 
ters of importance were submitted to the people in " town 
meeting assembled." These meetings were styled courts. 

The population of Plymouth in 1627, as shown in a dis- 
tribution of cattle that year, was one hundred and fifty- 
six. This number was increased to about two hundred 
and fifty by immigrants who arrived in 1629 and 1630. 
In the patent to Bradford in 1629, it is recited that the 
population was "near three hundred people." There was 
no immigration from Leyden to Plymouth after 1630. 

From the time of the settlement in 1620 until 1633, the 
only inhabitants of the colony were the settlers of the 
town of Plymouth, some of whom had removed to Dux- 
bury, Marshfield, and Eastham ; and with the exception 
of this population of about two hundred and fifty, the 
entire colony was subsequently settled by people from 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, with few exceptions, represent- 
ing the views and characteristics of the people of that 
colony. When the General Court, consisting of deputies 
from the several towns, was established, in 1639, so large 

*Bradford, 372, 373. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 1 7 

had been the immigration from Massachusetts Bay, that 
six towns or settlements besides Plymouth were repre- 
sented.* 

It has been said that the church at Plymouth was the 
mother church of the churches of Massachusetts Bay, or 
that they were patterned after it.f This is without 

* " Bradford had scarcely been three months in his grave before the 
narrower spirit of Massachusetts began to make itself felt where he had 
always exercised a restraining hand. The old Pilgrim Colony had been 
inundated and overwhelmed by migrations from her sister colony. Taun- 
ton, Rehoboth, Barnstable, Sandwich, and Yarmouth — all represented in 
the General Court — had been settled by immigrants having little or no 
affiliations with the colony into which they had come, who were permeated 
with the modes of thought and of legislation characterising the colony they 
had left." — William T. Davis' History of the Town of Plymouth, 65, 66. 

" The origin of New England, as the living embodiment of certain politi- 
cal and religious principles, dates from the foundation of Massachusetts. 
The more vigourous life of the younger Commonwealth overshadowed, 
and in the long run swallowed up, that of her older but weaker 
yokefellow ; nor can it be fairly urged that Plymouth had either by exam- 
ple or otherwise much effect on Massachusetts. If the Plymouth settle- 
ment had never been made, the political life of New England would in all 
probability have taken the same form and run the same course as it did." 
— Doyle's English Colonies in America, I., 46. 

The Plymouth Colony remained independent until 1692 ; when, by the 
Province Charter, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, the Prov- 
ince of Maine and Nova Scotia, and the intervening territory, were united 
under one government, under the corporate name of "The Province of the 
Massachusetts Bay in New England." 

t Baillie, and other Presbyterian divines of Scotland, in their contro- 
versies with the New England ministers, in the time of Cromwell, for the 
purpose of prejudicing churchmen and Presbyterians against the indepen- 
dents, were accustomed to say that they sprung from the Separatists of 
Plymouth and Leyden. Baillie, in his book called "The Dissuader," said, 



I 8 THE BAY COLONY. 

foundation in fact. Aside from the radical differences in 
ecclesiastical opinions which distinguished the settlers of 
Massachusetts Bay from those of Plymouth, it is certain 
that the course to be pursued by the ministers, Higginson 
and Skelton, who came over in 1629, was decided upon 
in England before they left. Cradock, Governor in Eng- 
land of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in a letter to 
Endicott, dated April 17, 1629, refers to the ministers 
to be sent over, and writes : " For the manner of the exer- 
cising of their ministry and teaching both our own people 
and the Indians, we leave that to themselves, hoping they 
will make God's word the rule, and mutually agree in the 
discharge of their duties." In another part of the letter, 
which evidently was not all written at one time, he writes : 
" We have in the former part of our letter certified you 
of the good hope we have of the love and unanimous 
agreement of our ministers, they having declared them- 
selves to us to be of one judgment, and to be fully agreed 
on the manner how to exercise their ministry, which we 
hope will be by them accordingly performed." * 

The ministers were undoubtedly familiar with the prac- 
tises of the reformed churches on the continent, which 



" The congregation of Plymouth did incontinently leaven all the vicinity." 
Cotton, in reply, said, " The Dissuader is much mistaken, when he saith, 
' The congregation of Plymouth did incontinently leaven all the vicinity;' 
seeing for many years there was no vicinity to be leavened. And Salem 
itself, that was gathered into Church order seven or eight years after them, 
was about forty miles distant from them." — Cotton, The Way, etc., i6. 
*Mass. Records, i, 394. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 1 9 

aided them in determining upon the course to be pursued 
in the colony. The history of the churches of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony will be hereafter more fully given. 

The three principal men of Plymouth were William 
Bradford, Edward Winslow, and Miles Standish. 

Bradford was a member of the church in Scrooby, 
emigrated with the company to Holland, and came to 
Plymouth with the first company. He was born in 1589, 
and died in Plymouth in 1657. He was governor of 
Plymouth thirty -one years and managed the affairs of 
the colony with great wisdom and prudence. He wrote 
a history of Plymouth from its first settlement to the 
year 1647 ; which work he commenced in 1630 and 
finished in 1650. 

Winslow was a gentleman of excellent education and 
of a good family in Worcestershire, England. Hutchin- 
son says, " He was a gentleman of the best family of 
any of the Plymouth planters." He was born in 1594. 
In 161 7, while on a tour through Holland, he became 
acquainted with Mr. Robinson and members of his church 
in Leyden, where he settled and was married. He was 
governor of Plymouth three years, and made several 
voyages to England as agent for the colony. He was 
much beloved and respected by the people of Massachu- 
setts Bay Colony, and was commissioned to act for that 
colony in England, in 1634 and in 1646. His services 
in England, especially in 1646, upon complaints made by 
Childe and Gorton against the Massachusetts government, 
were very valuable and highly appreciated, but caused 



20 THE BAY COLONY. 

some jealousy in Plymouth, as it was thought they inter 
fered with the performance of duties to Plymouth, for 
which he was commissioned. He never returned to 
Plymouth after his mission of 1646. 

Bradford, in 1650, referring to the mission of Winslow, 
says : " But by reason of the great alterations in the 
State, he was detained longer than was expected, and 
afterwards fell into other employments there, so as he 
hath now been absent this four years, which hath been 
much to the weakening of this government, without whose 
consent he took these employments upon him." * In 
1655 he was appointed by Cromwell as the chief of three 
commissioners to accompany the expedition against His- 
paniola, and died on the voyage. May 8, 1655. He wrote 
a history of the early days of Plymouth in what are 
known as " Winslow's Relation " and " Winslow's Brief 
Narration." 

Standish was a soldier. He came over in the first 
company. His motives in joining the expedition are not 
known, but he probably came through a love of adventure. 
He was a most valuable man to Plymouth, and, in the 
performance of the various important military and civil 
duties entrusted to him, displayed great courage and 
sound judgment. He was never a member of the Pilgrim 
Church. He died at Duxbury in 1656, at about the age 
of seventy. 

In 1622, Thomas Weston sold to the London Company 
his interest in the Plymouth venture, and obtained from 

* Bradford, 444. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 21 

the Council for New England a patent, which is not 
extant. * Under it, he sent over, the same year, from 
fifty to sixty men to commence a settlement, and estab- 
lish a trading post. The company was composed largely 
of " rude fellows," as described by Weston in a letter to 
Bradford, f 

They came first to Plymouth, arriving about July i, and 
remained there until the last of the summer, awaiting the 
return from Virginia of the ship in which they came over, 
to which place she was dispatched with passengers from 
England. Meanwhile, Wessagusset, now Weymouth, was 
selected for the settlement, and upon the return of the 
ship the company was taken there. This place was in 
Massachusetts, and about twenty -five miles from Ply- 
mouth. Blockhouses were constructed, and other prepara- 
tions made for the winter. But the men were very 
improvident and shiftless, and before winter their provi- 
sions were nearly all gone. The Plymouth people joined 
them in an expedition along the coast to make purchases 
of provisions from the Indians. A considerable quantity 
was obtained, but before the winter was over their supply 
was exhausted, and they were in great distress for food. 
The Indians, whom they had ill-treated, refused to sell 
them corn, and, seeing their weak condition, conspired for 
their destruction. Information reached Plymouth, the last 
of March, 1623, of the desperate state of affairs at Wessa- 
gusset, and Standish with eight men sailed to the settle- 
ment on pretence of trading with the Indians. He soon 

* Bradford, iiS, 122. t Ibid, 120. 



22 THE BAY COLONY. 

became satisfied of their treacherous designs, and con- 
trived to get two of the chief conspirators with two other 
savages into a blockhouse. Standish, with four or five 
Plymouth men, had preceded them, and, upon a precon- 
certed signal, fell upon and killed three of the Indians, and 
captured and bound the other, a young brave, and imme- 
diately hung him. Standish killed another savage outside 
the blockhouse, and his men killed two others in another 
part of the settlement. 

Upon information of this massacre, Robinson wrote a 
severe letter to the Plymouth people, in which he said, 
" Concerning the killing of those poor Indians of which we 
heard at first by report, and since by more certain rela- 
tion, oh ! how happy a thing had it been if you had con- 
verted some before you had killed any ; besides, where 
blood is once begun to be shed, it is seldom staunched of 
a long time after. You will say they deserved it. I grant 
it ; but upon what provocations and invitements by those 
heathenish Christians } Besides, you, being no magistrates 
over them, were to consider, not what they deserved, but 
what you were by necessity constrained to inflict." * 

The Weston men were filled with consternation at what 
had been done, and consulted with Standish as to what 
course they should pursue. Standish declared to them 
that he would not fear to remain with a smaller force than 
theirs. But they had had enough of the climate, of star- 
vation, and of the Indians. They had been expecting 
Weston with supplies from England, and were discouraged 

* Bradford, 164. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 23 

that they heard nothing from him. They decided to 
embark in their small vessel, the Swan, and sail eastward 
to the fishing stations, hoping to meet Weston there ; and 
if not, that they could work their way back to England on 
some of the fishing vessels. Standish, from a scanty 
supply, furnished them sufficient food for the voyage. 
They started together, the one party to the eastward and 
the other to Plymouth, Standish taking with him the 
head of the chief Indian conspirator, VVituwamat. This 
was the end of Weston's settlement. 

The charter of the Council for New England gave to 
the company a monopoly of fishing on the coast of New 
England, which was disregarded by the fishermen. In the 
latter part of June, 1622, Francis West, commissioned by 
the Council as admiral of New England, " to restrain inter- 
lopers and such fishing ships as came to fish and trade 
without a license," arrived on the coast, but he was soon 
convinced that " he could do no good of them for they 
were too strong for him, and he found the fishermen to be 
stubborn fellows." * He remained on the coast but a 
short time. 

In September, 1623, Robert Gorges, son of Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, commissioned by the Council " as their lieu- 
tenant, to regulate the state of their affairs," arrived with 
a company and took possession of the deserted buildings 
of the Weston company, at Wessagusset. He was com- 
missioned with large civil and ecclesiastical powers, and 
brought with him William Morel, an ordained clergyman 

* Bradford, 141. 



24 THE BAY COLONY. 

of the Church of England. Bradford says of Morel, " He 
had I know not what power and authority of superinten- 
dency over other churches granted him, and sundry 
instructions for that end ; but he never showed it or made 
any use of it (it should seem he saw it was in vain) ; he 
only spoke of it to some here at his going away." * 

Gorges passed about two weeks in November at Ply- 
mouth, and after that resided at Wessagusset until towards 
spring, when, with a portion of his company, he sailed in 
the Szvan to the fishing stations at the eastward. There 
he received letters from his father stating he could not 
procure money, and that a session of Parliament was to be 
held,f and advising him to return home, " till better occa- 
sion should offer itself unto him." He returned with a 
portion of his company, having scarcely saluted the coun- 

* Bradford, 1 54. 

t The subject of the monopoly in the charter of the Council for New 
England had been before Parliament prior to the appointment of Robert 
Gorges, and in 1624 was renewed and considered, and a bill was passed 
granting free fishery to all Englishmen. The opposition to the monopoly 
was spirited, and, during the discussion, Sir Edward Coke, who presided in 
the House of Commons, addressed, from the Speaker's chair. Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, who in person was pressing the claim for the monoply, and 
said to him, " Your patent contains many particulars contrary to the laws 
and privileges of the subject ; it is a monopoly, and the ends of private 
gain are concealed under cover of planting a colony. Shall none," said he, 
" shall none visit the seacoast for fishing .' This is to make a monopoly 
upon the seas, which are wont to be free. If you alone are to pack 
and dry fish, you attempt a monopoly of the wind and sun." 

The king refused his assent to the bill, claiming it was an interference 
with his prerogatives. Yet the effect of its passage was to prevent any 
further attempts by the company to enforce the monopoly. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 25 

try in his government.* Morel returned to England the 
next summer, leaving a few people at Wessagusset. 

About the time Morel left Wessagusset, a Captain 
Wollaston, with several associates, and some thirty ser- 
vants indented for a certain time, arrived from England, 
and commenced a settlement at what is known as Wollas- 
ton Heights, within the limits of the present city of 
Quincy, and about three miles northerly from the settle- 
ment at Wessagusset. He came, probably, to establish a 
trading post and fishing station. The next spring, being 
dissatisfied with the prospects at this place, he sailed for 
Virginia, taking with him the principal part of his ser- 
vants, and there sold his right to their services under 
their indentures, and sent back for some more. 

In Captain Wollaston's company was one Thomas Mor- 
ton, a profligate adventurer, who had some pecuniary 
interest in the enterprise. He was a London attorney. 
When the second detachment of servants left for Virginia, 
an agent was appointed to take charge of those that 
remained. Morton secretly plotted with the servants to 
expel the agent from the settlement, and allow him, Mor- 
ton, to take his place. This was accomplished, and the 
agent took refuge with the few settlers remaining at 
Wessagusset. Morton changed the name of the place 
to Merrymount or Ma-re-Mount, as Mr. Adams states,! 
entered into a trade with the Indians, sold them guns and 
ammunition, and taught them how to use them. With the 
proceeds of the trade, they indulged in all sorts of revel- 

* Bradford, 154. t Adams' Three Episodes, I., 175. 



26 THE BAY COLONY. 

ries. " They frisked like fairies, or rather furies, around 
a Maypole," and in one morning would drink ten pounds' 
worth of strong liquor, with the help of the Indians with 
whom they consorted. This conduct, especially the trade 
in firearms, caused great alarm to the settlers in "the 
straggling plantations," as Bradford styled the small 
settlements which were commenced in Massachusetts, 
and on the Piscataqua River.* 

A meeting of representatives of these settlements was 
held, and as Plymouth was the strongest at the time, they 
requested its authorities to put a stop to these proceed- 
ings. Repeated warnings were given to Morton, who 
replied with insolence and defiance, whereupon Standish 
with a small company of Plymouth men proceeded to 
Merrymount. Morton, who had received notice of their 
approach, barred the door to his house, and made a show 
of defence. But Standish seized him and took him to 
Plymouth, from which place he was sent to England in 
the charge of Oldham, with whom the Plymouth people 
had become reconciled.! A letter, signed by the princi- 

* Bradford, 240. 

t He, Morton, " threatened withal that if any came to molest him, let 
them look to themselves, for he would prepare for them, upon which they 
saw there was no way but to take him by force, and having so far pro- 
ceeded, now to give over would make him far more haughty and insolent. 
So they mutually resolved to proceed, and obtained of the governor of 
Plymouth to send Captain Standish and some other aid with him, to take 
Morton by force. The which accordingly was done, but they found him 
to stand stiffly in his defence, having made fast his doors, armed his con- 
sorts, set divers dishes of powder and bullets ready on the table, and if 
they had not been over-armed with drink, more hurt might have been 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 2/ 

pal inhabitants, directed to the Council for New England, 
was also sent by Oldham, giving a statement of Morton's 
conduct. The Council paid but little attention to it, and 
the next year, 1629, Morton returned to his old haunts. 
In the meantime, Endicott went to Merrymount, where 
a few of Morton's men still lived, caused the May- 
pole to be cut down, and admonished them that there 
should "be better walking." Upon Morton's return, the 
Indians in his neighbourhood complained bitterly that he 
ill-treated them, and a warrant for his arrest, to be re- 
turned to England, for an alleged crime, was received ; 
whereupon he was taken by process, set in the stocks, his 
goods taken to pay his creditors, the cost of extradition, 
and to satisfy the Indians he had injured; and his house 
was burned down in their presence, and he was again sent 
to England. It does not appear that on his arrival in 
England he was prosecuted on the charge made. While 
there, he was active in aiding the enemies of the colony. 
In 1637, he published a book defamatory to the colony, 
called the " New England Canaan." In 1643, he appeared 

done. They summoned him to yield, but he kept his house, and they 
could get nothing but scoffs and scorns from him, but at length, fearing 
they would do some violence to the house, he and some of his crew came 
out, but not to yield but to shoot ; but they were so steeled with drink as 
their pieces were too heavy for them ; himself with a carbine (overcharged 
and almost half filled with powder and shot, as was after found) had 
thought to have shot Captain Standish, but he stepped to him and put by 
his piece and took him. Neither was there any hurt done to any of either 
side, save that one was so drunk that he ran his own nose upon the point 
of a sword that one held before him as he entered the house, but he lost 
but a Httle of his hot blood." — Bradford, 241-2. 



28 THE BAY COLONY. 

again at Plymouth, where he was permitted to remain 
during the winter. In the spring of 1644 he went to 
Boston, was arrested, tried, convicted, and fined for de- 
faming the colony in his book. He was unable to pay his 
fine, and, after a short imprisonment, was released, when 
he went to Piscataqua, where, in a few years, he died.* 

Besides the settlements which have been described, 
there were, on the arrival of Winthrop in 1630, family or 
single individual settlements at Winnisimmet now Chelsea, 
at Shawmut now Boston, at Charlestown, and at Thomp- 
son's Island. 

Samuel Maverick came over in 1624, in the interest of 
Gorges, and settled at Winnisimmet, where he built a dwell- 
ing and trading house which was protected by palisades 
and cannon. With him came a number of servants, includ- 
ing some negro slaves, f He engaged in trade with the 
Indians, and in commerce along the coast. He was of 
good family, well educated, and very generous and hospit- 
able. Although a sturdy Churchman, he had for some 
years the confidence of the people, was appointed by the 
General Court on several committees, and in 1633 
received a grant of Noddle's Island, now East Boston. 
He applied for admission as freeman in October, 1630, 
and took the oath in October, 1632. But in the troubles 
which subsequently threatened the colony, his known 
connection with Gorges created suspicion ; and when, in 
1635, preparations were being made to prevent the land- 

* A very full account of these settlements is given in Adams' Three 
Episodes of Mass. History, Vol. I. 
t See Eliot's Biog. Diet. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 29 

ing of a general governor, he was ordered to remove with 
his family to Boston and forbidden to entertain any 
stranger more than one night, without the consent of an 
assistant. He became dissatisfied with the conduct of 
the government and churches, and in 1648 signed the 
petition of Doctor Childe and others, for which he was 
fined and imprisoned. Two years later he sold Noddle's 
Island and removed from the colony. 

William Blackstone or Blaxton settled at Shawmut 
several years before the arrival of Winthrop. His house 
was on the western slope of Sentry, now Beacon Hill. He 
was admitted as freeman in May, 1631. April, 1633, fifty 
acres of land were granted him, " near to his house in 
Boston." He never joined the Church of Boston, and a 
reason for it he has been said to have given was, that he 
left England out of dislike of the lords Bishops, and did 
not join the church here through dislike of the lords 
Brethren. In 1634 he sold to the town of Boston all 
his interest in lands excepting a few acres by his house, 
and soon after removed to the banks of what is now the 
Blackstone River, where he built a house and lived the 
remainder of his life. 

In the spring of 1630, Sir Christopher Gardiner, as he 
styled himself, appeared in the colony accompanied by a 
comely young woman he called his cousin, and built him- 
self a house a few miles from Boston. He professed 
much piety, but his conduct excited suspicion of insin- 
cerity. In the winter after his arrival information was 
sent from Engrland of two women he had married and 



30 THE BAY COLONY. 

deserted, and letters from both were received by Win- 
throp, one of them requesting that he should be immediately 
sent back to England to be dealt with for his offences. 
Upon which a court was held and an order passed for his 
arrest. He received information of it, and before the 
arrival of the officers betook himself to the forest. A 
reward was offered for his apprehension. In the mean- 
time he had left Massachusetts and was discovered by 
some Indians within the jurisdiction of the Plymouth 
Colony, who captured and took him to Plymouth, from 
which place he was taken to Boston in the custody of 
officers from Massachusetts. 

Shortly after his arrival at Boston a package of letters 
to him was received under cover to Winthrop, who opened 
them. They were from Gorges, who addressed him as 
his agent. In them, reference was made to the grant to 
Robert Gorges in 1622, which was included in the grant 
to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It does not appear 
that any prosecution was instituted against him, and he 
was not sent back to England. In a few months after 
his arrest he was allowed to go to Maine, where he 
remained about one year, probably in the service of 
Gorges, when he returned to England, where, with Morton 
and Ratcliff, he rendered aid to Gorges and Mason in their 
complaints against the colony. 

Thomas Walford, a blacksmith, was living in Charles- 
town when the first company arrived there, and the 
widow of David Thompson was living at Thompson's 
Island in Boston Harbour. 



CHAPTER I. 

FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 

TN 1623, some merchants of Dorchester, England, who 
-■- had been engaged for several years in the cod fishery 
on the coast of New England, determined to try the 
experiment of establishing a plantation and trading post 
conveniently near the fishing grounds, to be carried on in 
connection with fishing. It was necessary to bring over 
each year a much larger number of men than was required 
for navigating the vessels, that a full cargo of fish might 
be caught and cured in the brief fishing season, which was 
from February to June. The vessels left England in 
January, or early in February, and returned to arrive in 
England in September and October.* 

By establishing a plantation in connection with the 
fishery, employment on land for a large portion of the 
year would be given to the men not required to man the 
vessels. When not engaged in fishing they could culti- 
vate the land and carry on a trade with the Indians in 
furs ; and it was thought that after the first year the men 
on the plantation would not only be able to support them- 
selves from their crops, wild game, and fish, but to sup- 

* Young's Chron. Mass., 5 ; Sabine's Report on the fisheries, p. 40 ; 
Senate Doc, Vol. 5, 32 Cong., 2d session. 

31 



32 THE BAY COLONY. 

ply fresh vegetables and meat to the vessels during the 
fishing season, and that a large profit could be made from 
the trade with the Indians. It was also an influential 
consideration, in accordance with the intense religious 
spirit of the time, that a minister could be supported on 
the plantation, to impart religious instruction, especially 
during the fishing season, to the fishermen when on shore 
for curing the fish. For the purpose of this undertaking 
more than three thousand pounds were subscribed, to be 
expended in the purchase of vessels and farming utensils 
and provisions for the plantation.* An arrangement was 
made with the Plymouth people for the occupation of 
land at Cape Ann, now Gloucester, which was a portion of 
the territory granted them by Lord Sheffield under a 
patent, based on a proposed division of the territory of the 
Council for New England, that was never completed.! 
The project was matured, and in the spring of 1624 a 
small vessel of fifty tons was purchased and despatched 
for the purpose of making a commencement of the under- 
taking, with Thomas Gardener as overseer of the planta- 
tion, and John Tilley of the fishery, both engaged for one 
year.:|: But from delay in preparation, the vessel did not 
arrive at the fishing grounds until from four to six weeks 
after the commencement of the fishing season, and being 
unable to obtain a full fare of fish at Monhegan, the 
master sailed to Massachusetts Bay, where he was more 

* Young's Chron. Mass., 5, 6. 

t Smith's Gen. Hist., 247 ; Thornton's Landing at Cape Anne, 16. 

X Hubbard, 106. Young's Chron. Mass., 7. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 33 

successful, and secured a good cargo of fish ; after which 
he left fourteen men at Cape Ann, and sailed for Spain, 
arriving too late for a good market, and thence to Eng- 
land. The men left at Cape Ann constructed a house, 
salt works, and other structures required for curing fish.* 

The next spring, the Dorchester company having heard 
that there were residing at Nantasket " some religious and 
well-affected persons that were lately removed out of New 
Plymouth, out of dislike of their principles of rigid separa- 
tion, of which number Mr. Roger Conant was one, a relig- 
ious, sober and prudent gentleman," engaged him to be 
" their governor " at Cape Ann, and to take charge of both 
the plantation and the fishing. Mr. John White, a non- 
conformist clergyman of Dorchester, who had been active 
in starting and promoting the enterprise, became satisfied 
of Conant's qualifications for the position through infor- 
mation from Conant's brother in England, who was well 
known to him. The Dorchester Company also invited 
Mr. John Lyford to be minister of the plantation, and 
John Oldham to take charge of the trade with the Indians. 
Lyford accepted the invitation, but Oldham declined, pre- 
ferring to remain where he was at Nantasket and trade on 
his own account, t 

Conant and Lyford removed to Cape Ann in the spring, 
or early in the summer of 1625. That year two vessels 
were sent over for fishing, but a small fare of fish was 
taken. The vessels on their return to England left thirty- 

* Young's Chron. Mass., 7. Palfrey, I., 285. 
t Hubbard, 106, 107. 



34 THE BAY COLONY. 

two men at Cape Ann.* The next year, 1626, three ves- 
sels were sent over, one with cattle and provisions for the 
plantation. The success was no better than in the pre- 
ceding year. The results on the plantation were unsatis- 
factory. The time for planting was found to be in the 
busiest part of the fishing season ; many of the men 
employed in planting were ill chosen, and there was a 
great depreciation in the value of vessels. The Dorches- 
ter Company became discouraged, determined to abandon 
the further prosecution of the enterprise, and sold their 
vessels. They paid the wages of the men, and offered 
transportation to England to such as should desire to 
return, which the more indolent ones accepted. The 
others, through the influence of Conant, decided to remain 
to take charge of the cattle and other property of the 
Dorchester Company on the plantation.! 

The location at Cape Ann had been selected with es- 
pecial reference to the convenience it afforded for the 
fishery, but the soil proved to be unsuitable for a plan- 
tation. Upon the abandonment of the fishery. Governor 
Conant selected Naumkeag, now Salem, " a pleasant and 
fruitful neck of land," as a preferable place for planting, 
and removed there with his associates in the fall of 1626, 
and commenced the erection of houses and the prepara- 
tion of the land for cultivation.:): Conant corresponded 
with friends in England upon the change of location, and 

* Young's Chron. Mass., 9. 

t Young's Chron. Mass., 9-12. Babson's Hist. Gloucester, 40. 

J Hubbard, 102. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 35 

the expediency of maintaining the settlement. Mr. 
White, whose interest in the success of the enterprise 
increased with the discouragements it encountered, wrote 
to Conant urging him "not so to desert the business," 
promising that " if himself with three others (whom he 
knew to be honest and prudent men, namely, John 
Woodberry, John Balch, and Peter Palfrey, employed by 
the adventurers) would stop at Naumkeag, and give timely 
notice thereof, he would provide a patent for them, and 
likewise send them whatever they should write for, either 
men or provisions, or goods wherewith to trade with the 
Indians." They returned answer that they would remain, 
"entreating that they might be encouraged accordingly." 
But afterwards many of the men became discontented, 
and upon the acceptance by Mr. Lyford of an invitation 
to go to Virginia, expressed a desire to accompany him. 
By the earnest persuasion of Conant, they were induced 
to remain, and John Woodberry was sent to England for 
supplies.* 

In the meantime, Mr. White had been industrious in 
his efforts to promote the enterprise and interest others 
in it. Several members of the Dorchester company were 
also desirous to maintain the plantation. They conferred 
with gentlemen in London, who were induced to join 
them in the purchase of additional cattle, which they sent 
over for the support and encouragement of the planters. 
The discussion of the subject interested men of means, 
who expressed a willingness to contribute toward the 

* Hubbard, 107, 108. 



36 THE BAY COLONY. 

support of the plantation if fit men could be found to go 
over, and, upon inquiry, it was found that a number were 
willing to go, among them Mr. John Endicott, who was 
well known to the promoters of the enterprise as a suit- 
able man to take charge of the company.* Arrange- 
ments were at once made, and March 19, 1628, Sir 
Henry Roswell, Sir John Young, Thomas Southcoat, 
John Humphrey, John Endicott, and Simon Whitcomb 
obtained from " The Council established at Plymouth, in 
the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling and govern- 
ing of New England in America," usually called the 
" Council for New England," a patent of territory bounded 
northerly by a line three miles north of the Merrimac 
River, southerly by a line three miles south of the Charles 
Hiver, and extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the South 
Sea, so called. f The history of this patent is as follows : 

In 1606, a charter was granted by King James of all 
the territory between the thirty-fourth and the forty-first 
degrees of north latitude, to a company styled the South 
Virginia Company ; and in the same charter was granted 
to another company, styled the North Virginia Company, 
all of the territory between the thirty-eighth and forty- 
fifth degrees, the intervening territory to be held by both 
companies in common, each company to have administra- 
tive powers on the place, but both to be controlled by a 
general government in England. 

In 1620, the North Virginia Company, largely through 

* Young's Chron. Mass., 12, 13, 309, 310. 

t Neither the patent nor a copy of it is known to be in existence. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 3/ 

the efforts of Gorges and Mason, obtained from the king 
an independent charter, of territory extending from the 
fortieth to the forty-eighth degrees of north latitude, and 
from sea to sea, varying several degrees from the original 
grant. The territory extended upon the seacoast from 
the latitude of Philadelphia to the middle of Newfound- 
land. The charter conferred upon the company exclusive 
powers of trade, and a monopoly of fishing upon the coast. 
All grants of land in New England were made under this 
patent. Grants were made interfering with the bound- 
aries of others, and, in some instances, grants of the same 
territory were made, at different times, to different per- 
sons. The only explanation of the making of these con- 
flicting grants is, that grants not immediately improved, 
and possession thereof retained, were deemed to be for- 
feited, or that the later grants were made with the assent 
of the owners of the earlier ones, which were not re- 
corded, or that the earlier grants had not been legally 
made. 

Before the grant to Roswell and his associates, a con- 
siderable portion of the territory embraced in it had been 
granted to other persons. March 9, 1622, the Council for 
New England granted to Captain John Mason what is 
described as a great headland or cape, known as Traga- 
bizanda, or Cape Ann, extending from the Naumkeag, now 
Bass River, in Beverly, to the Merrimac River, to be known 
as Mariana. And August 10, 1622, the Council granted 
to said Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges all the land 
between the Merrimac and Sagadahock, now the Kennebec 



38 THE BAY COLONY. 

River, and sixty miles westward, with all islands within five 
leagues of the shore, to be known as the Province of 
Maine. This territory was probably divided between 
Mason and Gorges, although no record of it is known, as 
November 7, 1629, the Council for New England made a 
grant to Mason of all the land lying between the Merrimac 
and the Piscataqua, to be known as New Hampshire, which 
was probably intended as a confirmation of his title under 
such division ; and Decernber 30, 1622, made a grant to 
Robert Gorges, son of Sir Ferdinando, of all the main- 
land of Massachusetts on the northeastern side of the 
bay, with all the shore toward the northeast for ten miles 
in a straight line, and thirty miles inland, also all islands 
within three miles of the shore, not before granted. 
This included the land from Massachusetts Bay, which 
was at that time understood to mean Boston Bay, north- 
easterly to a point on the shore at or near what is now 
Swampscott. Upon the death of Robert Gorges without 
issue, this land descended to his brother, John Gorges, 
who, December 10, 1629, made a grant to Sir William 
Brereton of all said land on the shore from the eastern 
side of Charles River to the eastern side of Nahant Cape, 
and twenty miles inland ; also two islands near the shore. 
He also made a grant to John Oldham and John Dorrel 
of the other portion, described as between the Charles 
river and the Abousett, now Saugus River. * 

*For a history of these several grants see Hazen, in Lowell Inst. Lec- 
tures in 1869, 147-162. Belknap Hist. N. H., I., 11-14. Palfrey, I., 397- 
402, notes. 



foUaNdation of the colony. 39 

These conflicting grants occasioned much trouble, as 
will be seen hereafter. 

Soon after the grant to Roswell and others, Sir Rich- 
ard Saltonstall, Isaac Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John 
Venn, Matthew Cradock, George Harwood, Increase 
Nowell, Richard Perry, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniel 
Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, 
Thomas Adams, John Brown, Samuel Brown, Thomas 
Hutchings, William Vassall, William Pynchon, and George 
Foxcroft obtained an interest in the patent, probably by 
the purchase of the shares of the three persons first 
named in it, as their names do not appear in connection 
with it after its confirmation by the king.* Energetic 
measures were at once taken by the new company. They 
purchased of the Dorchester company all their property 
at Cape Ann and Naumkeag ; made preparations to send 
over men and supplies ; and appointed Mr. Endicott to 
take charge of the proposed expedition, with instructions 
to proceed to Naumkeag to " carry on the plantation of 
the Dorchester agents," and to " make way for the 
settling of another colony in Massachusetts," meaning on 
the shores of Boston Bay.f 

Preparations were hastened, and June 20, Endicott, 
with a company of planters and servants, sailed in the 
ship Abigail from Weymouth, England, for Naumkeag. 
His instructions, signed by John Venn, Matthew Cradock, 
George Harwood, John Humphrey, Hugh Peters, John 

* Hubbard, 109, Mass. Records, I., 6. 
t Hubbard, 109. 



40 THE BAY COLONY. 

White, Richard Perry, George Hewson, Samuel Aldersey, 
Thomas Stevens, Joseph Caxton, Thomas Webb, Increase 
Nowell, and Abraham Palmer, were dated May 30, 1628.* 
He arrived at Naumkeag, September 6, and wrote to Mr. 
Cradock a letter, dated September 13, informing him of 
his arrival. The precise number of the men who came 
over with Endicott, or of those at Naumkeag with Conant, 
is not known. White, in his " Brief Relation," states the 
number of newcomers and of the old planters together, 
as from fifty to sixty. The names of eight of the old 
planters are known, f Felt estimates the whole number 
with Conant, including women and children, at thirty, J 
which is, probably, nearly correct. The same year the 
company sent over more servants. 

The old planters at Naumkeag were much dissatisfied 
upon information, which was probably first brought by 
Woodberry, who returned in June, of the formation of the 
new company, the superseding of Conant in the govern- 
ment of the plantation, and the transfer of all the rights 
and propertv of the Dorchester company. § The letter 
of Endicott to Cradock, which has been referred to, has 
not been preserved, but it is probable, from the subsequent 
letters of the company to Endicott, that he had a dispute 
with the old planters in regard to the cultivation of 

* Hutchinson, I., i6, n. 

t Goodman Norman and Son, William Allen, Walter Knight, John 
Woodberry, Roger Conant, Peter Palfray, John Balch. — Thornton's 
Landing at Cape Ann, appendix. 

t Coll. Am. Stat. Ass'n, I., 138. 

§ Hubbard, 109, no. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 4 1 

tobacco, in which they had been engaged, which was 
concluded by his allowing them to cultivate it until he had 
further instructions from the company. The old planters 
complained that the purpose was to make them slaves. 
There was much ill-feeling on the subject, but finally they 
became reconciled through the prudence and moderation 
of Conant.* 

Soon after the arrival of Endicott, he sent men to take 
down and remove to Salem the frame house at Cape Ann, 
which had been built by the Dorchester company.f He 
also sent seven men or more to " the Massachusetts," " to 
make way for the settlement of another colony there." 
They proceeded to what is now known as Charlestown, 
where they found a body of Indians, and Thomas Wal- 
ford, who lived in a house that was thatched and pali- 
saded. They remained there with the free consent of the 
chief of the Indians. 

Meanwhile, in England, large additions were made to 
the company from the gentry and wealthy merchants from 
different parts of the realm. The territory covered by 
the patent was extensive. Its importance, under certain 
not improbable conditions in the near future, was seen. 
The earlier conflicting patents were undoubtedly known 
to the company. The Council for New England was 
invested with powers of government granted to the cor- 
porators and their successors in perpetual succession. 
These powers could not be delegated. The Roswell patent 

*Mass. Records, I., 385. Hubbard, no. 

t Thornton's Landing at Cape Ann, Appendix. 



42 THE BAY COLONY. 

conveyed only a title to the land. A confirmation by the 
king would strengthen their title, and powers of govern- 
ment seemed almost a necessity if a permanent settlement 
was to be attempted. Was it possible to obtain both or 
either .'' It was decided to make a trial. The company 
had influential friends at court. The Earl of Warwick 
and Lord Dorchester, one of the Secretaries of State, 
were their friends. White, an able lawyer, and Belling- 
ham, both of whom were in full sympathy with the move- 
ment, acted as their advocates. The company was pos- 
sessed of the sinews that would be most potential with 
Charles, who was resorting to extraordinary measures to 
extort revenue. A vigourous and successful effort was 
made. They obtained from the king a new charter with 
the coveted powers of government, under the title, " The 
Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in 
New England,"* which passed the seals March 4, 1629. 
Mr. Cradock, in his first letter to Endicott, of date April 
^7, referred to the privileges which, "we from his maj- 
esty's especial grace, with great cost, favour of person- 
ages of note, and much labour have obtained." f Months 
before the grant of the royal charter, preparations had 

* Mass. Records, I., 3. 

t Ibid, 387. A charter was obtained from King Charles which some 
manuscripts say cost the company two thousand pounds sterUng. Hutch- 
inson, II., 9, same page, note, "I paid ;^ 50, and Mr. Eaton ;^ 100, and 
sundry other merchants the same sums respectively, for the purchase of 
the charter, we being members of the corporation for N. E." Davenport's 
letter. It has been estimated a pound sterling at that time was equal in 
value to six or eight pounds at the present time. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 43 

been commenced for a large emigration in the spring. 
The records of the company state the different contracts 
made with skilled workmen, and, with the ministers who 
were to go over, they also give in detail the various 
articles to be purchased for the use of the emigrants and 
the support of the plantation. Matthew Cradock, who 
had been previously elected governor of the company, in 
a letter dated February 16, 1629, refers to Endicott's wife 
as his cousin,* and informs him that the company is 
much enlarged since his departure, that they had pur- 
chased one ship, the tonnage not given, and hired two 
others of about 200 tons each, and intended to hire 
another ; that they proposed to send over from two hun- 
dred to three hundred persons and one hundred head of 
cattle ; requests that he would have houses built for as 
many as he could, and to have in readiness for the return 
of the ship, beaver (skins), some sassafras, sarsaparilla, 
sumac, silk-grass, and anything else suitable for dyeing, 
or for medicinal purposes, and to inform him in what 
quantities they are produced, some sturgeon, also some 
wood, if no better lading could be obtained ; reminds him 
of the main end of the plantation, which was to endeavour 
to bring the Indians to the better knowledge of the 
Gospel; enjoins him to treat the Indians justly and courte- 
ously, and to educate their children ; he also wrote that 
two ministers at the least were to be sent over ; that Mr. 
Peters was in Holland, and it was uncertain when he 
would return, and that the ministers sent would have the 

* Mass. Records, I., 383. 



44 THE BAY COLONY. 

approbation of Mr. White, of Dorchester, and of Mr. 
Davenport ; informs him that the course he had taken in 
regard to the planting of tobacco was approved for the 
present, but hopes the old planters will find some better 
and more profitable employment.* A letter was also sent 
to Endicott from the governor and deputy of the com- 
pany, of date April 17, 1629, in which they state that, 
since the departure of Endicott, they had obtained a con- 
firmation of their grant from the king by letters patent 
under the broad seal of England, a duplicate of which 
would be sent him by Mr. Sharp ; that for the propagat- 
ing of the Gospel, their aim above all things in settling 
the plantation, they have been careful to make " plentiful 
provision of godly ministers," for those of our nation and 
the Indians. They make mention of the several ministers 
they were to send, and that they have left to them " the 
manner of the exercising their ministry ; " f they notify 
him that they have confirmed him as governor of the 
plantation, and joined in commission with him as a council 
three ministers, namely : Mr. Francis Higginson, Mr. 
Samuel Skelton, and Mr. Francis Bright, also Mr. John 
Brown, Mr. Samuel Brown, Mr. Thomas Graves, and Mr. 
Samuel Sharp ; that the body of the government is to 
consist of thirteen persons ; that the old planters might 
choose two, and that the seven above named might 
choose the other three from the men on the plantation, or 
from those who should come over. They further state 
that, as to the old planters, they do not wish to make 

*Mass. Records, I., 383-3S5. t Ibid, 387. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 45 

them slaves, but to give them the privileges of the com- 
pany, and desired that they might enjoy not only the 
lands they had manured, but such further lands as the 
rest of the Council should think fit ; that they should have 
some benefit of the common stock upon such terms as the 
rest of the Council should deem to be just, to be paid in 
beaver (skins), at six pence per pound ; that, if the old 
planters conceived that they could not provide for their 
livelihood without raising tobacco, for the present they 
might raise it, under such restrictions as the rest of the 
Council should make, but they forbade the sale of it to, or 
the use of it by, any servants of the company or of indi- 
viduals, " except upon urgent occasion for the benefit of 
health and taken privately." They also state that they 
have seen a grant from Mr. Gorges to Mr. Oldham and 
John Dorrell of certain lands within the Massachusetts 
between the Charles and the Abousett, which they par- 
ticularly describe, and that William Jeffreys (at Wey- 
mouth) and William Blaxton were authorised by Gorges 
"to put John Oldham in possession;" that they held the 
grant void in law, but they enjoined it upon Endicott 
and his associates, if he should attempt to take pos- 
session, for them, in their discretion, to " prevent him by 
causing some to take possession of the chief part 
thereof ; " that they had had no small disturbance in their 
business by Oldham making various propositions ; that 
they have come to the conclusion he is " an unfit man to 
deal with," and that they have at last "left him to his 
own way;" that they were informed that he, with others. 



46 THE BAY COLONY. 

was fitting out a vessel with dispatch, to proceed to New 
England, and to settle in Massachusetts under said grant 
from Gorges ; that they can make no proper terms with 
him, and Endicott and his associates must use the best 
endeavours they can to make an agreement with the old 
planters, so they will not listen to Oldham's propositions ; 
that they must suppress the mischief before " it takes too 
great a head ; " that a temperate course should be pur- 
sued if possible, but if necessity require a more severe 
course, that they deal with him, in their discretion, as 
they shall " think fittest for the general good and safety 
of the plantation and preservation of our privileges." They 
directed, in order to strengthen their possession, that 
as soon as any of the ships should arrive they " send forty 
or fifty persons to Massachusetts Bay to inhabit there," 
which they prayed them not to protract, but " to do it 
with all speed ; " also, that if any individuals of the com- 
pany desire to settle there, or to send servants, they be 
permitted and encouraged so to do, " the better to 
strengthen our possessions there." They also authorized 
Endicott and his associates to give all their countrymen 
who had planted, if they should be willing to live under 
the government, the same privileges as are allowed to any 
of our own plantation, and, even if they saw cause for it, 
to give them more than ordinary privileges in point of 
trade. They also gave instructions, that, if any of the 
Indians claimed title to any of the lands covered by the 
patent, to " endeavour to purchase their title, that we 
may avoid the least scruple of intrusion." They also 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 4/ 

gave the following instruction : " And to the end the 
Sabbath may be celebrated in a religious manner, we 
appoint, that all that inhabit the plantation, both for the 
general and particular employments, may surcease their 
labour every Saturday throughout the year at three of the 
clock in the afternoon, and that they spend the rest of 
that day in catechising and preparation for the Sabbath, 
as the minister shall direct."* 

Another letter was sent of date May 28, 1628, giving 
additional instructions for the management and govern- 
ment of the plantation, and in it was enclosed a copy of 
an order of the company for the allotment of land, in 
which they provided that two hundred acres of land be 
given to each adventurer who has contributed ^50 to the 
common stock ; and at the same rate for additional con- 
tributions ; fifty acres for each person who is sent over by 
any adventurer in the common stock, at his own charge, 
servants as well as others, to be given to such adventurer ; 
and fifty acres, and more if the governor and council shall 
deem it necessary in any case, to any person who shall 
transport himself and family. They further order that 
conveyances of all lands shall be made to the different 
persons in the name of the company, to which the com- 
pany's seal shall be affixed. f 

They also sent over, at the same time, a copy of the 
rules they had adopted for the government of the colony. 

The first records of the Massachusetts Bay Company 
are of date February 23, 1828-9. At a meeting held 

♦Mass. Records, I., 386-398. f Ibid, 398. 



48 THE BAY COLOXY. 

March 5th next, the records show that a communication 
had been made by Sir WilHam Brereton to the governor, 
in which the fact was stated that he had a patent of land 
in the Massachusetts Bay, granted him by Mr. John 
Gorges, and he offered to join the company if they would 
promise him it should " not be prejudicial to his patent ; " * 
and it was resolved that the answer to it be made, " that 
if he pleased to underwrite with us without any condition 
whatsoever, but to come in as all other adventurers do, he 
should be welcome upon the same conditions that we 
have." At the same meeting a proposition was made in 
behalf of John Oldham, which was deferred for further 
consideration.! At a meeting held May iith, it was 
stated that Mr. Oldham had proposed to Mr. White that 
he would have his patent examined ; and it was voted, 
•' not to have any treaty with him about it, by reason, it 
is thought he doth it not out of love, but out of some 
sinister respect. "J 

Of the ships provided for transporting emigrants and 
cattle, before referred to, the ship George Bojiaventure, of 
about 300 tons, armed with twenty pieces of ordnance, and 
manned by about thirty mariners, for " some special and 
urgent cause of hastening her passage," set sail about the 
middle of April, with fifty-two planters, provisions and 
cattle. April 25 th, the ship Talbot, of about 300 tons, 
with nineteen pieces of ordnance, and manned by thirty 
mariners, carrying above 100 planters, five large pieces of 
ordnance, some goats, and " all manner of munitions and 

* Mass. Records, I.. 25. t Ibid, 29. \ Ibid, 39. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 49 

provisions for the plantation for a twelvemonth ; " and 
the Lioiis Whelp, a ship of 120 tons, with eight pieces of 
ordnance, carrying about fifty planters, especially from 
Dorchester and its neighbourhood, with provisions, set sail 
from Gravesend. Soon after, the ships Four Sistej's, May- 
floiver* and Pilgrim sailed, carrying planters and provi- 
sions. The ship George arrived at Naumkeag, June 22, 
and the Talbot and Lion s Whelp, June 29. 

Mr. Skelton and his wife came over in the George, Mr. 
Higginson and his family in the Talbot, and Mr. Bright in 
the Lions Whelp. Passage was also granted to Mr. Ralph 
Smith, a Separatist minister, which the company, in a 
letter to I^ndicott, state was granted him " before we 
understood of his difference of judgment in some things 
from our ministers." The letter further states, and "we 
have therefore thought fit to give you this order that 
unless he will be conformable to our government, you 
suffer him not to remain within the limits of our grant. "f 
He soon removed to Nantasket, and thence to Plymouth, 
where he supplied the place of a teaching elder. Before 
the ships sailed from England, the lord treasurer's war- 
rant was given for the departure of " sixty women and 
maids, twenty-six children, and three hundred men, with 
victuals, arms, tools, and one hundred and fifty head of 
cattle."J 

The men who came over in the George proceeded imme- 

* The same ship in which the Pilgrims came over in 1620. 
t Mass. Records, I., 390. 
X Prince's Annals, 257. 



50 THE BAY COLONY. 

diately to Charlestown, and with them Mr. Graves the 
"engineer," who laid out streets, and commenced the 
building of the "great house," as it was called. They 
probably went before the arrival of the other ships, and 
were followed by Mr. Bright, the minister, and others, 
soon after their arrival at Naumkeag. 

Mr. Higginson, within a few months after his arrival, 
wrote a glowing account of the plantation, which was pub- 
lished in England, in which he said, " When we came first 
to Na-humkek we found about half a score of houses, and 
a fair house newly built for the governor;" and "there 
are in all of us, both old and new planters, about three 
hundred, whereof two hundred of them are settled at 
Na-humkek, now called Salem, and the rest have planted 
themselves at Masathulets Bay, beginning to build a town 
there, which we do call Cherton, or Charlestown."* 

From the time Lyford left for Virginia until the 
arrival of the second body of emigrants, the plantation was 
without a minister. Religious services during this period 
were probably conducted under the Episcopal forms, but 
immediately after their arrival Skelton and Higginson 
took measures for forming a church organisation. They 
proceeded, with the approval of the body of the colonists, 
to establish a church government entirely independent of 
the government of the Church of England. They 
believed they had a right so to do. They undoubtedly 
feared that if they should adopt the ritual, or any part of 
the government of the Established Church, the time 

* Young's Chron. Mass., 259. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 5 1 

might come when they would have imposed upon them 
Bishops' Courts, the Court of High Commission, and all 
the detested forms and ceremonies of the Establishment. 
They were determined, if possible, to prevent this. They 
proceeded to establish a Congregational church. They 
consulted with Endicott, whom they found to be in full 
sympathy with them. July 20, less than one month after 
the last arrival of colonists, was appointed for fasting and 
prayer, and for the choice of a pastor and of a teacher. 
At the time appointed, after prayer, fasting, and a sermon, 
Mr. Skelton was chosen pastor, and Mr. Higginson 
teacher. A prayer was then offered by Mr. Higginson, 
when he and several of the gravest men consecrated Mr. 
Skelton, by the imposition of hands, after which Mr. 
Skelton consecrated his colleague in the same manner. 
August 6 was appointed as another day of fasting and 
prayer, for the choosing and ordaining of elders and dea- 
cons, and Mr. Higginson was requested to draw up " a 
confession of faith and form of a church covenant accord- 
ing to the Scriptures." On the appointed day the two 
ministers prayed, and preached sermons ; and near the 
close of the day Mr. Higginson read the confession and 
covenant which he had prepared, which were solemnly 
assented to by thirty members, and a copy was given to 
each. The ministers were then ordained with the same 
ceremonies as those by which they had been consecrated, 
as was also Mr. Houghton, who had been chosen ruling 
elder.* 

* It is stated by Hutchinson and other historians that Governor Fr-^H- 



52 THE BAY COLONY. 

Thus the first great step was taken toward the establish- 
ment of a church. When fully established, in accordance 
with English traditions and usages, it was to be the 
Church of the colony, to the exclusion of all other eccle- 
siastical organisations. 

It is probable that, from prudential considerations, the 
result at which the ministers had arrived was not pro- 
mulgated in England before their departure, and, perhaps, 
was not fully disclosed to the body of those who came 
over. It is certain that the course pursued was a sur- 
prise to some of the company, including John and Samuel 
Brown, two of the most prominent men of the emigrants, 
and members of Governor Endicott's council. Although 
nonconformists, they disapproved the extreme course that 
had been taken, and held separate meetings at which was 
read the Book of Common Prayer. They declared that 
the ministers "were Separatists, and would be Ana- 
baptists." The minister replied " that they were neither 
Separatists nor Anabaptists ; they did not separate from 
the Church of England, nor from the ordinances of God 
there, but only from the corruptions and disorders there, 
and that they came away from the Common Prayer and 

ford was present at the ceremonies, and arrived in season to extend the 
right hand of fellowship. Goodwin, in his history of The Pilgrim Repub- 
lic, p. 325, n., says " this is probably an error." The only authority for 
the statement is Morton's Memorial, written more than thirty years after 
the event. Bradford's history contains a copy of a letter he received from 
Salem giving an account of the first meeting, and it seems strange, if he 
was present at the second and more important one, that he made no 
reference to it. Morton's Mem., ed. 1826, 92. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 53 

ceremonies, and had suffered much for their nonconformity 
in their native land ; and therefore, being in a place where 
they might have their liberty, they neither could nor 
would use them, because they judged the imposition of 
these things to be sinful corruptions in the worship of 
God."* 

This produced a conflict which could not be composed. 
Endicott had written instructions from the company, that 
persons not " conformable to their government " should 
not be permitted "to remain within the limits of their 
grant." He caused the Browns to be brought before him 
for their " seditious " proceedings, and finding that their 
speeches and practices tended to mutiny and faction, told 
them " that New England was no place for such as they," 
and sent them back to England on the return of the 
ships in which they came over.f 

There has been much discussion of the question whether 
the colonists had a right to establish a church government 
independent of the national Church. There is nothing in 
the charter which in terms forbids such an establishment. 
The only reference made to the subject is in the provi- 
sion authorising the governor and other officers to admin- 
ister the oath of supremacy, but not requiring that it 
should be administered. King Charles, when he granted 

* Morton's Mem., ed. 1826, 94, 95. 

t Ibid, 95. The Browns after their return to England applied to the 
company for recompense for the damages they had sustained, and the 
matter was referred to gentlemen selected by the parties, but the records 
do not show to what conclusion they came. 



54 THE BAY COLONY. 

the charter, fully understood that the grantees were non- 
conformists, and that they sought the grant for the pur- 
pose of establishing a colony in which they might worship 
God in accordance with the dictates of their own con- 
sciences. He had early information of the course pursued 
in the colony. His attention was especially called to it on 
the return of the Browns. The king, at different times, 
sent messages to the governor and General Court of the 
colony, complaining of their conduct, but in no instance 
did he complain that the colonists had set up an Indepen- 
dent Congregational Church without his consent. The 
attorney -general of England brought a Quo Warrajito 
against the government of the colony in 1637, in which he 
charged various illegal acts, but none in regard to their 
church organisation.* Winthrop states that at the con- 
clusion of a hearing before the king and his Council, in 
1633, the agents of the colony were "assured from some 
of the Council that His Majesty did not intend to impose 
the ceremonies of the Church of England upon us, for 
that it was considered that it was the freedom from such 
things that made people come over to us."t 

Charles the Second, upon complaints from Church of 
England members in the colony, that they were not 
allowed their separate worship, in a letter to the governor, 
of date June 28, 1662, required that the liberty be granted 
them ; and referring to the charter, wrote, " And since 
the principle and foundation of the charter was, and is, 
the freedom and liberty of conscience," etc. And in 

* Hutchinson papers, 101-103. t Winthrop, I., 103. 



FOUNDATION OF THE COLONY. 55 

another letter, of date July 24, 1679, he wrote, "Whereas 
liberty of conscience was made one principal motive for 
your first transportation into those parts," etc. These were 
plain admissions that it was understood, from the begin- 
ning, that the colonists were not to be governed in their 
religion by the English hierarchy. He made no charge 
against the* colonists that they had, without authority, 
established an independent church ; but claimed, in con- 
travention of all English precedents upon the subject, that 
the church, when established, was to exercise toleration. 

It is evident from the letter of Winthrop and others to 
the Church of England, from on board the Arbella,* that 
the colonists, in the absence of any requirement of the 
king to the contrary, believed they had the right to estab- 
lish an independent church government, not only under 
the rules of the primitive Church, but under the articles 
of the English Church, which were adopted in the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth. These articles declare that " It is 
not necessary that traditions and ceremonies be in all 
places one, or utterly like, for at all times they have been 
divers, and may be changed according to the diversity of 
countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be 
ordained against God's word," and, " Every particular or 
national church hath authority to ordain, change, and abol- 
ish, ceremonies or rights of the church, ordained only by 
man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying." 

* Young's Chron. of Mass., 295. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 

MEANWHILE, the company in England was very 
zealous in its efforts for the success of the colony. 
The royal charter afforded them much encouragement. 
Affairs, ecclesiastical and civil, were rapidly approaching 
a crisis. Charles, influenced by his French queen, who 
was a Catholic, pursued a much more tyrannical course 
against all who refused to conform than either of his 
predecessors, Elizabeth and James. All laws requiring 
conformity were rigidly enforced against the reformers 
by the Court of High Commission, and mildly against 
the papists. In civil affairs, especially within the last 
two or three years, Charles had acted with entire dis- 
regard of the public liberties. He exacted money from 
citizens, under the name of loans, and imprisoned those 
who refused to comply with his demands, and the king's 
bench refused to relieve them on habeas corpus. He 
billeted soldiers on private persons in time of peace, ap- 
pointed commissioners for trials by martial law, and per- 
formed various other acts in disregard of the liberties of 
the people. He assumed absolute power. He called a 
Parliament in 1628, hoping through influence and intimi- 
dation to make it bow to his will. But the Commons, 

56 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 5/ 

representing the people, could not be purchased or intimi- 
dated. They presented a declaratory bill, called the 
Petition of Right, for the protection of persons arrested 
without legal cause. This bill, after ineffectual attempts 
at amendment by the peers, was passed by both houses, 
and was reluctantly consented to by the king. Soon 
after its passage, the Commons, as is customary, prepared 
a bill granting to the king the right to levy duties known 
as tonnage and poundage. The king had exercised the 
right without the consent of Parliament, claiming he was 
justified by precedents. The Commons delayed the pas- 
sage of the bill that they might receive a reply from the 
king to a declaration they had prepared that the levying 
of tonnage and poundage not granted by Parliament was 
a breach of the fundamental liberty of the country. The 
king anticipated the passage of the declaration by pro- 
roguing Parliament. Upon the reassembling of the Com- 
mons, the king, finding that they were determined to pass 
the declaration, dissolved the Parliament.* This was six 
days after the grant of the royal charter to the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony, and the feeling which it excited 
throughout England gave an additional impulse to the 
movement of colonising America. 

The patentees of the Roswell patent and twenty other 
persons named, with their associates, being such others as 
should be admitted and made free of the company, in 
perpetual succession, were to constitute the corporation.-)- 

*See Hallam's Const. Hist. England, I., 380-386. 
* Mass. Records, I., 3, and the Appendix. 



58 THE BAY COLONY. 

The description given in the charter was : On the south 
a point three miles " to the south of the southernmost 
part of Massachusetts Bay," and a point three miles south 
of the Charles River, " or any and every part thereof ; " on 
the north a point three miles "to the northward of any 
and every part " of the Merrimac, and all lands " lying 
within the limits aforesaid, north and south in latitude 
and breadth, and in length and longitude" from the 
Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea. 

The officers of the company were a governor, deputy 
governor, and eighteen assistants, to be chosen annually 
from the freemen of the company, at a General Court or 
assembly to be held on the last Wednesday of Easter 
term of each year. To the governor and company was 
given power and authority to choose as many freemen as 
they shall think fit ; to elect and constitute such officers 
as they shall deem requisite for the ordering, managing, 
and despatching the affairs of the governor and company, 
and in General Court assembled, " to make laws and 
ordinances for the good and welfare of the said Company 
and ordering of the said lands and plantation, and the 
people inhabiting and to inhabit the same, as to them 
from time to time shall be thought meet. So that such 
laws and ordinances be not contrary or repugnant to the 
laws and statutes of this our realm of England," and 
further, " from time to time to make, ordain, and establish 
all manner of wholesome and reasonable orders, laws, 
statutes, and ordinances, directions and instructions, not 
contrary to the laws of this our realm of England, for the 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 59 

settling of the forms and ceremonies of government and 
magistracy there," and to name the officers they shall 
appoint, define their duties and prescribe the administering 
of oaths to them. And to the officers of the company for 
the time being was given " full and absolute power and 
authority to correct, punish, pardon, govern, and rule the 
inhabitants according to laws not repugnant to the laws 
of England ; also authority was given them at any time, 
for their special defence and safety, to encounter, repulse, 
repel, and resist by force of arms, any who shall " attempt 
the destruction, invasion, detriment, and annoyance of the 
said plantation or inhabitants." 

The charter also authorised the company to transport 
to the colony any and all persons except such " as shall be 
hereafter by special name restrained by us," also arms, 
ammunition, food, clothing, cattle and merchandise neces- 
sary for their use and defence, and for trade with the 
people there, without payment of any duties on the same, 
or taxes in the plantation, for the term of seven years. It 
also provided that for twenty-one years there should be no 
import or export duties on any goods or merchandise to 
or from England or any of its dominions, excepting five 
per cent, duties upon such goods and merchandise as should 
be imported into England or any of its dominions, after 
seven years, " according to the ancient trade of mer- 
chants ; " with the right to reship any such goods or mer- 
chandise for any place out of the English dominions, free 
of further duty. The charter also declares that " these, our 
letters patent, shall be construed, reputed and adjudged 



6o THE BAY COLONY. 

in all cases most favourably on the behalf and for the bene- 
fit and behoof of the said governor and company and their 
successors."* The king, in the charter, appointed Mat- 
thew Cradock, governor ; Thomas Goffe, deputy governor ; 
and Sir Richard Saltonstall, Isaac Johnson, John Cook, 
John Humphrey, John Endicott, Simon Whitcomb, In- 
crease Nowell, Richard Perry, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel 
Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Adams, Thomas 
Hutchins, John Brown, George Foxcroft, William Vassall, 
and William Pynchon, assistants. 

The first annual meeting under the charter was held 
May 13, 1629. The only change made in the officers of 
the company was the substitution of two new assistants in 
the place of Endicott and Brown, who were then out of 
the country.! At a session of the General Court held 
July 13, Governor Cradock read a proposition, "That for 
the advancement of the plantation, the inducing and 
encouraging persons of worth and quality to transplant 
themselves and families thither, and for other weighty 
reasons therein contained, to transfer the government of 
the plantation to those that shall inhabit there, and not to 
continue the same in subordination to the company here, 
as now it is." The subject was discussed, and all present 
were desired to put in writing their views upon the propo- 
sition and present the same at the next meeting, " and in 
the meantime they are desired to carry this business 
secretly, that the same be not divulged. "| August 26, a 

* Copy of the Charter in Mass. Records, I., 3; and in appendix. 
t Mass. Records, I., 40. J Ibid, 49. 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 6 1 

mutual agreement in writing was made at Cambridge by 
Sir Richard Saltonstall, John Winthrop, Isaac Johnson, 
Thomas Dudley, John Humphrey, William Pynchon, 
Increase Nowell, Thomas Sharp, William Vassall, and 
others, that they would embark with their families for the 
plantation in New England by the first of March next, to 
inhabit and continue there ; provided that, before the last 
of September next, the whole government, together with 
the patent for the said plantation, be first, by an order of 
the (General) Court, legally transferred and established, to 
remain with them and others who should inhabit upon the 
said plantation. The proposition of Governor Cradock 
was further discussed at meetings of the General Court, 
August 28 and 29, when it was voted by "general con- 
sent of the company that the government and patent 
should be settled in New England, and accordingly an 
order to be drawn up."* At a meeting of the General 
Court, held September 29, it was voted that a committee 
be appointed to take advice of learned counsel, whether 
the proposed transfer of the government and patent could 
be legally made, and to consider other things necessary, if 
the transfer should be made.f There is no record of a 
report from this committee, but it is probable that they 
obtained advice of counsel favourable to the transfer, as, 
in the subsequent meetings, no question was made of its 
legality.:]: 

* Mass. Records, I., 51. Young's Chron. Mass., 86, n. 

t Ibid, 52. 

X The company had acted largely upon the advice of John White, an 



62 THE BAY COLONY. 

At a meeting of the General Court, October 20, 1629, 
the transfer of the government to New England having 
been fully decided upon, a new governor, deputy governor, 
and assistants, were elected. Mr. John Winthrop, Sir 
Richard Saltonstall, Mr. Isaac Johnson, and Mr. John 
Humphrey were nominated for the office of governor, and, 
according to the records, " Mr. Winthrop was, with a gen- 
eral vote, and full consent of this Court, by erection of 
hands, chosen to be governor for the ensuing year, to 
begin on this present day ; who was pleased to accept 
thereof ; and thereupon took the oath to that place apper- 
taining." Mr. John Humphrey was then chosen in like 
manner deputy governor, and Sir Richard Saltonstall, 
Isaac Johnson, Thomas Dudley, John Endicott, Increase 
Nowell, William Vassall, William Pynchon, Samuel Sharp, 
Edward Rossiter, Thomas Sharp, John Revell, Matthew 
Cradock, Thomas Goffe, Samuel Aldersey, John Venn, 
Nathaniel Wright, Theophilus Eaton, and Thomas Adams 
were chosen assistants. It was afterwards resolved that 
the members of the company who were to remain in Eng- 
land should have a share in the trading stock and the 
profits of it, for the term of seven years, and the manage- 
ment of the stock was entrusted to Winthrop, Saltonstall, 
Johnson, Dudley, and Revell, who were to go over to New 
England, and Cradock, Wright, Eaton, Goffe, and Young, 
who were to remain in England. Arrangements in much 
detail were made in regard to the division of profits, but 

eminent lawyer, and it is probable that, as stated by early historians, he 
gave to the company an opinion favourable to the transfer. 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 65 

the records do not show that any division was ever 
made.* 

Frequent meetings of the General Court, and of the 
Court of Assistants, were held in the autumn and winter, 
at which arrangements were made for the satisfaction of 
the debt of the company, and for the purchase and hiring 
of vessels for the great emigration which was to com- 
mence in March. As the time of departure approached, 
the deputy governor, Mr. Humphrey, and Samuel Sharp, 
Mr. Wright, Mr. Eaton, and Mr. Goffe, of the assistants, 
resigned, and Thomas Dudley was elected deputy gover- 
nor, and Roger Ludlow, Sir Brian Jan sen, William Cod- 
dington, and Simon Bradstreet were chosen assistants in 
the place of those who resigned. f 

The question of the right of the company to transfer 
its chief government to the plantation has been much 
discussed. 

In the charters of all similiar companies, prior to that 
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, requirements were 
made that the chief governments thereof should be and 
remain in England. They all, including the Massachu- 
setts Bay charter, authorised the companies to make laws 
for the plantations, and to appoint such officers as they 
deemed necessary to administer and execute them on the 
place. The principal purpose of this was that the corpo- 
rations should be within the jurisdiction of the courts in 
England. The requirement that the chief government 

* Mass. Records, I., 59-65. 

t Ibid, 69, 70. Sir Brian Jansen did not come over. 



64 THE BAY COLONY. 

should be and remain in England was not made in the 
charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

It is provided in the charter that the true meaning 
thereof should, in all cases, be construed most favourably 
to the company. As this requirement had been made in 
all prior charters, and was not made in the charter of the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, it is to be inferred that the 
omission was made for a purpose ; and there could have 
been no other purpose than to permit the company, in its 
discretion, to locate its chief government in England or in 
the plantation. Winthrop, in an article upon arbitrary 
government, written in 1634, discussed different clauses 
in the charter, and said : 

" The last clause is for the governing of the inhabitants 
within the plantation. For it being the manner for such 
as procured patents for Virginia, Bermudas, and the West 
Indies to keep the chief government in the hands of the 
company residing in England (and so this was intended, 
and with much difficulty we got it abscinded)." * 

This makes it plain that the omission in the charter 
was not only intentional, but that the attention of the 
king and council was especially called to the subject, and 
that it was discussed and considered before the final 
decision was made. 

According to this statement of Winthrop, the king and 
council intended to require that the chief government of 
the company should be and remain in England, the same 
as in the other charters, and they were prevailed upon 

* Life and Letters of Winthrop, IL, 442-3. 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 65 

"with much difficulty" not to carry this intention into 
effect. Thus we have the facts that the requirement had 
been made in all previous charters, and was not made in 
this ; that the change was intentionally made, with the 
full knowledge and consent of the king. 

Two clauses in the charter have been referred to as 
showing that it was intended that the chief government 
of the company should be and remain in England ; the 
one authorising certain officers to administer the oath of 
supremacy, and the other providing that the administer- 
ing of oaths and imposing of penalties should be 
"according to the course of other corporations in this 
our realm of England." But the charter of Connecticut, 
granted in 1662, which has always been construed as 
authorising the chief government of the company to be in 
the colony, contains the same provisions.* 

Reference has also been made to the course pursued by 
the Massachusetts Bay Company from April 30, 1629, to 
August 29, 1629, establishing and maintaining a govern- 
ment in the plantation, in subordination to the government 
in England, as tending to show that the company under- 
stood their charter to require that the chief government 
should be in England. 

The right of the company to establish its chief govern- 
ment in the plantation did not depend upon its being 
immediately exercised. As the principal men of the 
company, those who had contributed the means for the 
enterprise, resided at the time in England, it could hardly 

* See Preston's Doc's Amer. Hist., 96. 



66 THE BAY COLONY. 

be expected that they would give the entire control of 
the government and property to the men in the plantation. 
Under the authority in the charter to make laws and to 
appoint officers for the government of the plantation, 
they adopted the wisest and most prudent course, by 
continuing, with additional powers, the government on 
the place, under Endicott, reserving the control in their 
own hands until arrangements should be made by the 
principal members of the company to remove to the 
plantation.* How early active measures were taken for 
such removal is not known. The first information we 
have of it is from the proposition in writing made by 
Governor Cradock at a meeting of the General Court 
July 28, 1629, for the transfer of the government to the 
plantation. The injunction of secrecy at the time was 
undoubtedly from the fear that, if the purpose should be 
proclaimed, Charles, whose duplicity and faithlessness 
were proverbial, might be prevailed upon to attempt a 
change in the charter, or to claim that the authority was 
not intended in it. 

The omission in the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter 
of a requirement that the chief government of the com- 
pany should be and remain in England marked a change 
in the policy of England towards its colonies. Experience 
had shown the disadvantages to the colonies of being con- 

* " He (Endicott) was fully instructed with power from the company to 
order all affairs in the name of the patentees, as their agent, until them- 
selves should come over, which was at that time intended, but could not 
be accomplished till the year 1630." — Hubbard, 109. 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 67 

trolled by companies residing in England, and the change 
thus made in the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter was 
followed in the subsequent charters of Connecticut, Rhode 
Island, and Maryland.* 

In 1677, the two chief justices, Lords Rainsford and 
North, gave the opinion that the charter " made the 
adventurers a corporation upon the place." In 1679, 
Sir William Jones, as attorney-general, gave the opinion 
upon the claims of Mason, that the company transferred 
themselves and made a settlement upon said land "pur- 
suant to the charter ; " and his successor, Sir Robert 
Sawyer, who obtained the judgment against the charter 
on other grounds in 1684, gave it as his official opinion, 
that " the patent having created the grantees and their 
assigns a body corporate, they might transfer their charter 
and act in New England." f 

Preparations for the great emigration having been 
made, the ship Lion, with eighty passengers, sailed from 
Bristol, and arrived at Salem in May, and the Maiy and 
John, of four hundred tons, left Plymouth, March 20, with 
about one hundred and forty passengers from Devonshire, 
Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire, and arrived at Nantasket 
the last of May. They settled at Mattapan, now Dor- 
chester. These ships sailed in advance of the fleet, which 
consisted of the Arbella, Talbot, Ambrose, Jewell, Charles , 

* See Preston's Doc's Amer. Hist., 62, 96, no. 

t See Commonwealth vs. Roxbury, Gray's Mass. Reports, Vol. 9, p. 451, 
and exhaustive notes by the reporter, afterwards Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and Justice of U. S. Supreme 
Court. 



68 THE BAY COLONY. 

Mayflower, William and Francis, Hopewell, Whale, Suc- 
cess, and Trial. The first four, the others not being 
ready, sailed from Cowes, March 29, but, on account of 
storms and head winds, did not leave Yarmouth until 
April 8.* Governor Winthrop, Mr. Saltonstall, Mr. John- 
son, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Coddington, and others, 
from on board the Arbella, April 7, took leave of England 
by an address entitled " The humble request of His Maj- 
esty's loyal subjects, the governor and company late gone 
for New England. To the rest of their brethren in and 
of the Church of England. For the obtaining of their 
prayers, and the removal of suspicions and misconstruc- 
tions of their intentions," in which they made a loving 
appeal to the fathers and their brethren of the Church for 
their sympathy and prayers, and said, " Yet we desire you 
would be pleased to take notice of the principals and body 
of our company, as those who esteem it our honour to 
call the Church of England, from whence we rise, our 
dear mother; and cannot part from our native country, 
where she specially resideth, without much sadness of 
heart and many tears in our eyes, ever acknowledging 
that such hope and part as we have obtained in the com- 
mon salvation, we have received in her bosom and sucked 
it from her breasts. We leave it not, therefore, as loath- 
ing that milk wherewith we were nourished there, but 
blessing God for the parentage and education, as members 
of the same body, shall always rejoice in her good, and 
unfeignedly grieve for any sorrow that shall ever betide 

* Chron. of Mass., 311 and notes. 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. 69 

her, and while we have breath, sincerely desire and en- 
deavour the continuance and abundance of her welfare, 
with the enlargement of her bounds, in the Kingdom of 
Christ Jesus." They further ask for their prayers for a 
church springing out of their own bowels, and said, " You 
are not ignorant that the spirit of God stirred up the 
apostle Paul to make continual mention of the Church of 
Philippi, which was a colony from Rome ; let the same 
spirit, we beseech you, put you in mind, that are the 
Lord's remembrancers, to pray for us without ceasing, 
who are a weak colony from yourselves, making continual 
requests for us to God in all your prayers." * 

The address was made, not only to express the love of 
its authors for the Church of England, but for the pur- 
pose of removing misconstructions of their intentions, as 
the ecclesiastical proceedings in Salem were then fully 
known in England, and had probably been exaggerated by 
the Browns, who had returned some months before. 

The address has been variously commented on by 
different writers. Some have construed the phrase " The 
Church of England " to mean, not the Establishment, but 
the aggregate of English Christians of all sects. But 
this is a forced construction. The address is plainly 
directed to the Establishment of the Church of Eng- 
land. Others have referred to it as written with the 
intent to deceive, by insincere expressions of love for, 
and loyalty to, the Church of England, when its authors 
had fully determined to establish for themselves an 

*Mass. Chron., 295-298. 



70 THE BA V COLO2VY. 

independent church system, claimed to be inconsistent 
with these professions, and contrary to their obligations 
to the English Church. These accusations have been 
made either through ignorance, or with a wilful disregard 
of the relations in which the nonconformists stood to the 
Established Church. The nonconformists detested the 
forms and ceremonies of the Establishment as adopted 
from the Roman Church, and the Bishop's Courts, and 
the Court of High Commission, through which their ob- 
servance was enforced. They claimed that these forms 
and ceremonies were not authorised by Scripture — that 
they were the inventions of men, and that to observe 
them was idolatry. But this did not affect their regard 
for, or loyalty to, the Church itself. They were members 
of it ; they subscribed fully to its doctrines and to the 
ecclesiastical unity upon which it was based. In all 
essentials they were sincere churchmen, and they did not 
love the Church itself less because of obnoxious forms and 
ceremonies imposed upon it. They lived in an age when it 
was the general belief that it was impossible for different 
sects to exist in the same community without such conflicts 
as would endanger the peace not only of the churches, but 
of society. The day of toleration had not dawned. To 
them, toleration was not only mischievous, but sinful. 

Early in the reign of Elizabeth, the reformers returned 
a majority to the House of Commons, and so strong were 
they with the clergy, that, in the convocation of 1562, a 
proposition to abolish the most objectionable of the forms 
and ceremonies failed of adoption by only one vote, the 
vote being 59 to 58. 



THE COMPANY IN ENGLAND. /I 

Parliament, in 1593, passed a statute which provided: 
That any person who obstinately refused to attend church, 
and persuaded others to withstand Her Majesty's ecclesi- 
astical authority, or persuaded others not to go to 
church and to go to any unlawful conventicle, should be 
imprisoned until he conformed. If he did not conform 
within three months, he was to abjure the realm, and if, 
after abjuration, he did not leave the realm, or returned to 
it without license, he became guilty of felony without 
benefit of clergy. A statute previously passed, provided 
a fine and censures of the Church for any one who should 
neglect to attend public worship in the prescribed form, 
regularly. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. 

"^ I ^HE Arbella arrived at the entrance to Salem Har- 
^ hour Saturday, June 12, 1630, passed through the 
narrow channel between Baker's and Little Island,* and 
anchored inside. Early Monday morning, there being 
head winds, the ship was warped into the inner harbour, f 
Winthrop, upon his arrival, found the colonists under 
Endicott in a state of great destitution, with provisions 
sufficient for only a few weeks. 

About eighty of those who came over the preceding 
year had died, and others were weak and sick. By some 
negligence or misunderstanding, a portion of the provis- 
ions intended to be brought over were not shipped, and 
the supply was so limited that they were obliged to dis- 
charge from their indentures one hundred and eighty 
servants who had been sent over in the two preceding 
years. 

The Jezvcll arrived at Salem the same day as the 
Arbella, and within the next four weeks, the Mayfloivcr, 
Whale, Talbot, and Trial arrived at Charlestown, and the 
Hopewell, William and Francis, and Success, at Salem. 

* Now known as Little Misery Island. t Now .Salem Harbour. 

72 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHKOP. y^ 

The other ships arrived soon after. The number of 
immigrants that arrived before the end of the year is 
estimated by Hutchinson as above fifteen hundred. 

Thursday, after his arrival at Salem, Winthrop, with 
some of his principal associates, went to " Massachusetts," 
to select a suitable place for a fortified settlement. They 
went first to Charlestown, and from there explored the 
neighbouring country, and decided upon a place on the 
Mystic, as the best location for the purpose. They spent 
one night with Maverick, at Winnisimmet, and returned 
to Salem the following Saturday.* Another exploration 
party was afterwards sent, which preferred a place on the 
Charles, afterwards called Newtown, now Cambridge. 
This place was agreed upon for the settlement, and early 
in July the supplies and ordnance were reshipped and 
sent to Charlestown, from which place they were to be 
taken to Cambridge. 

Winthrop, Dudley, Johnson, Ludlow, Nowell, Pynchon, 
and Bradstreet, who took with them the charter ; and 
Messrs. Wilson and Phillips, the ministers, together with 
the body of the recent immigrants at Salem, arrived at 
Charlestown early in July. Many of the company were 
sick with scurvy and fevers, contracted on the voyage, and, 
upon consultation, it was decided to abandon, for the 
present, their purpose to proceed to Cambridge ; that some 
should remain at Charlestown, and others select suitable 
places in the neighbourhood for the erection of cottages, 
and make other provisions for the winter. Accordingly 

* Winthrop I., 27. Frothingham's Hist. Charlestown, 40-48. 



74 THE BAY COLONY. 

Winthrop and some of the assistants took possession of 
the "great house," and the rest of the company hved in 
tents and booths, and some commenced the erection of 
cottages. The meeting place was under a tree, where 
Wilson and Phillips preached.* 

Soon after, Saltonstall and a company, with Mr. Phillips 
as their minister, removed to Watertown. Pynchon with 
another company settled at Roxbury ; another party 
removed to Mystic, which they named Meadford, where 
servants, sent over by Cradock the year before, had made 
a settlement. Others removed to Boston and to Lynn. 
Thus the first year there were settlements in eight places, 
Salem, Lynn, Charlestown, Watertown, Mystic, Boston, 
Roxbury and Dorchester. 

Upon landing the supplies from the vessels, it was 
found that a considerable portion of the provisions had 
been spoiled on the passage ; and in August Winthrop 
despatched the ship Lion to the nearest port in Ireland or 
England, to purchase provisions, to return as speedily as 
possible. 

Great mortality prevailed among the immigrants, and 
before December two hundred persons died.f This, with 
the scarcity of provisions, caused great despondency ; and 

* " They lived many of them in tents and wigwams at Charlestown, 
their meeting place being abroad under a tree, where I have heard Mr. 
Wilson and Mr. Phillips preach many a good sermon." — -Clap's Memoirs, 
Young's Chron. of Mass., 351. 

t In Massachusetts Bay, as at Plymouth, many persons died soon after 
their arrival, from diseases contracted on board ship. After the first year 
there was but little sickness among the survivors in either place. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHKOP. 75 

on the return of the ships, about one hundred of the new- 
comers left for England, and some others removed to 
Piscataqua, now Portsmouth. Mr. Bright, the minister of 
Charlestown, and Mr. Vassall, one of the assistants, were 
among those who returned. Dudley, in a letter to the 
Countess of Lincoln, in March following, wrote, that most 
of those who left were disaffected on account of the rigid 
discipline to which they were subjected, and that the 
colony suffered no detriment from their return.* 

In August or September, Mr. Isaac Johnson, one of the 
assistants, settled at Boston, intending to make it his per- 
manent residence, and died there September 30 ; his wife, 
the lady Arbella, died in Salem in August. f Soon after 
his death, it was decided by Winthrop and the assistants 
at Charlestown that Boston was a preferable place to live 
in for the winter. Winthrop took over the frame of a 
house he had constructed at Charlestown ; and the last of 
October, or early in November, Winthrop, Dudley, and 

* Dudley's letter in Young's Chron. Mass., 315. 

t Prince, in his Annals of New England, 319, states: "And the late 
Chief Justice Samuel Sewall Esq. informed me that this Mr. Johnson was 
the principal cause of settling the town of Boston, and of its becoming the 
metropolis, and had removed hither; had chosen for his lot the great 
square lying between Cornhill on the Southeast, Tremont Street on the 
Northwest, Queen Street (now Washington Street) on the Northeast, and 
School Street on the Southwest; and on his death-bed desiring to be 
buried at the upper end of his lot, in faith of his rising in it. He was 
accordingly buried there ; which gave occasion for the first burying place 
of this town to be laid out round about his grave." 

This is now King's Chapel Burial-ground. There is nothing to mark 
the spot where he was buried. 



'j6 THE BAY COLONY. 

Others of the assistants, with their families, together with 
most of the people at Charlestown, crossed over and 
erected cottages there. Some idea of the accommodations 
in the cottages that were built can be obtained from the 
letter of Deputy Governor Dudley, in which he described 
the condition of the colonists ; which, he wrote, he '• must 
do rudely, having yet no table, nor other room to write in 
than by the fireside upon my knee, in this sharp winter ; 
to which my family must have leave to resort, though they 
break good manners, and make me many times forget 
what I would say, and say what I would not."* 

Mr. Wilson was ordained minister, or teaching elder, at 
Charlestown, August 2^, but soon moved to Boston. He 
was ordained with the same ceremonies as those at Salem. 
Winthrop, describing the ordination, writes : " We used 
imposition of hands, but with this protestation by all, that 
it was only as a sign of election and confirmation, not of 
any intent that Mr. Wilson should renounce his ministry 
he received in England."! 

The charter provides for meetings of the governor, 
deputy governor, and assistants once a month, or oftener, 
at their pleasure to hold a court, " for the better ordering 
and directing of their affairs ; " and that at such courts 
seven of the assistants with the governor or deputy gover- 
nor should constitute a quorum "for the handling, order- 
ing or dispatching of all such business and occurrents as 
shall from time to time happen,' touching or concerning 
the said company or plantation." All other powers were 

* Young's Chron. Mass., 303. \ Winthrop, I., 32, ^i- 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. JJ 

given in the charter to the governor and company, consist- 
ing of the governor, deputy governor, assistants and 
freemen ; who were four times each year to hold " a great 
general and solemn assembly, which four general assem- 
blies shall be styled and called the four great and general 
courts of the said company." The style adopted was 
"The General Court." 

The governor, and in his absence the deputy governor, 
was authorised to call all meetings of the company, at 
which meetings it was required that there should be 
present the governor or deputy governor, and six assist- 
ants, who, with the freemen present, were to act by a 
majority vote of all.* 

The first meeting in the colony of the Court of Assist- 
ants was held at Charlestown, August 23. At this meet- 
ing, it was ordered that houses be built for Mr. Wilson 
and Mr. Phillips, at the public charge, with convenient 
speed. Winthrop undertook to see that one was built at 
Charlestown for Mr. Wilson, and Saltonstall that one 
was built at Watertown for Mr Phillips. It was further 
ordered that, for his maintenance, Mr. Phillips should 
have allowed, him three hogsheads of meal, one hogshead 
of malt, four bushels of Indian corn, one bushel of oat 
meal, one-half a hundred of salt fish ; and for apparel and 
other provisions, twenty pounds ; or forty pounds in 
money per annum, if he should prefer it, and he find his 
own provisions ; the year to begin the first of September 
next. It was also ordered for Mr. Wilson that he should 

* Mass. Records, I., ii, and the Appendix. 



78 THE BAY COLONY. 

have twenty pounds per annum until his wife came over, 
to begin the tenth day of July past, all to be a common 
charge, "those of Mattapan and Salem only exempted."* 
Provision was also made for the support, at the public 
charge, of Mr. Gager, physician, and James Penn, beadle, 
whose employment was to wait upon the governor, and to 
execute his commands in public business. The course of 
proceeding in the commencement of all civil actions was 
prescribed, the wages of skilled labourers were regulated, 
and the governor, deputy governor and Saltonstall, 
Johnson, Endicott, and Ludlow of the assistants, were 
appointed justices of the peace, with the powers of the 
justices of the peace in England for reforming abuses and 
punishing offences, with authority to imprison offenders ; 
but no justice could inflict corporal punishment without 
the presence and consent of another assistant. It was 
also ordered "that Morton of Mount Woliston should 
presently be sent for by process." f At the next meet- 
ing of the court held at Charlestown, September 7, it was 
ordered that Thomas Morton be set in the bilboes and 
afterwards sent to England in the ship Gift ; that all his 
goods be seized to repay the expense of his transportation, 
the payment of his debts, and to give satisfaction to the 
Indians for a canoe which he unjustly took from them, 
and that his house be burned in the sight of the Indians 
for their satisfaction for the wrongs he had done them. 
Provision was also made for the support, at the public 
charge, of Captains Patrick and Underbill ; and it was 

* Mass. Records, I., 73. t Ibid. 74. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER IVINTHROP. 79 

ordered that no one should plant in any place without 
leave of the governor and assistants ; and a warrant was 
issued to command those who had planted at Agawam, 
now Ipswich, to leave the place.* At another meeting 
held at Charlestown, September 28, it was ordered that 
no person should employ or permit any Indian to use any 
firearms on any occasion ; that no servant should sell or 
take any commodity without his or her master's license ; 
that no person should sell or send any Indian corn to any 
Englishmen outside the colony, or to any Indian, without 
license from the governor and assistants ; and that all 
of Richard Clough's strong water be seized, for the 
reason he had sold quantities of it to servants, which 
was the occasion of much disorder, drunkenness, and mis- 
demeanour. It was also ordered that there should be 
collected, and levied by distress, from the several planta- 
tions, specified sums, for the maintenance of Captains 
Patrick and Underbill. The same day an inquest was 
held upon the body of William Bateman, before Winthrop, 
governor, and Isaac Johnson, assistant and justice of the 
peace. The jury presented that "he died by God's visi- 
tation ; " and September 28, a jury was impanelled to 
inquire concerning the death of Austin Bratcher. The 
jury found that the death was occasioned by blows 
inflicted by Walter Palmer, and presented that he was 
guilty of manslaughter.! 

The first quarter-annual session of the General Court 
was held at Boston, October 19. No freemen had been. 
*Mass. Records, I., 75, 76. t Ibid, 78. 



80 THE BAY COLONY. 

admitted, except a few in England before the departure of 
the company, and the governor, deputy governor, and 
assistants constituted a majority, if not all, of the mem- 
bers present. The Court of Assistants had, to this time, 
exercised exclusive control in the affairs of the company, 
had passed laws, appointed officers, tried causes, civil and 
criminal, punished offenders, held inquests, and levied 
taxes, which could only be justified by the exigencies of 
the time, as the General Court had passed no laws or 
orders for governing the people. 

At this meeting of the company, one hundred and nine 
persons applied for admission as freemen.* Those in 
authority were alarmed. They deemed it necessary for 
the success, and even the existence of the colony, that the 
rigid and exclusive policy they had marked out should be 
followed, and that, with a scattered population, composed 
largely of servants free from the moral restraints of a 
settled community, the strictest discipline must be en- 
forced. By the charter, the General Court, to which the 
law-making power was entrusted, was to be composed of 
the freemen who were to transact all public business at 
general meetings, by the majority vote of those present. 
It was a pure democracy, without checks or restraint. It 
was felt that if all who applied should be admitted as free- 
men, the majority of the General Court would be com- 
posed of men inexperienced and unfitted for the important 
duties of the place ; yet they could not refuse to admit 
additional freemen, as it would leave the great body of the 
people disfranchised. 

* Mass. Records, I., 79, 80. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER VVINTHROF. 8 1 

The question presented itself to those in authority, 
whether they should follow the letter of the charter, and 
thereby imperil the future of the colony, or attempt, by 
forced construction, to accommodate its provisions to what 
they deemed necessity required ; and they decided to 
admit freemen, but to abridge their powers. Their de- 
cision is embodied in the vote of the court, which is as 
follows : " For the establishing of the government. It 
was propounded if it were not the best course that the 
freemen should have the power of choosing assistants 
when there are to be chosen, and the assistants from 
amongst themselves to choose a governor and deputy 
governor, who, with the assistants, should have the power 
of making laws and choosing officers to execute the same. 
This was fully assented unto by the general vote of the 
people, and erection of hands."* None were admitted 
as freemen at this session, and it will be noticed that the 
assent was not by the freemen, but by the people. This 
left to the freemen only the right to elect assistants, and 
as there was but little opportunity for the freemen of the 
different plantations to consult together before the meet- 
ings of the General Court, there would be but little 
danger of change in the personnel of the administration. 

Two sessions of the Court of Assistants were held at 
Boston in November. At the first session, Walter 
Palmer, who had been presented, was tried by the jury 
and acquitted, and, at the second session, Mr. Saltonstall 
was fined five pounds, " for whipping two several persons, 
* Mass. Records, I., 79. 



82 THE BAY COLONY. 

without the presence of another assistant, contrary to an 
act of court formerly made."* The same month, "two 
gentleman passengers," who arrived at Plymouth in the 
ship Handmaid, came to Boston with Captain Standish, 
to plant there, "but having no testimony," the assistants 
refused to receive them.f There is no record of any 
session of the Court of Assistants in the winter, but in- 
formal meetings were held in December, at which it was 
first decided to build a fortified town on the neck between 
Boston and Roxbury, which was afterwards reconsidered, 
and at a meeting at Watertown, December 28, it was 
agreed that all the assistants excepting Endicott and 
Sharp, who was to return to England, should, in the spring, 
build houses at Newtown, now Cambridge, and that the 
ordnance and ammunition be removed there, with the 
view to build a fortified town. J The winter was very 
severe, and there was such a scarcity of provisions that 
many were, for a time, compelled to subsist upon clams 
and muscles, and bread made from groundnuts and 
acorns. February 6 was appointed for a fast, but the 
ship Lio7i arrived with provisions February 5, which 
caused the substitution of a thanksgiving for it on Feb- 
ruary 22. § 

Early in the spring, Winthrop and Dudley commenced 
the building of houses at Cambridge ; but Winthrop, 
before his house was finished, decided, at the earnest 
solicitation of the Boston people, to remain there. This 

* Mass. Records, I., 8i, 82. t Young's Chron. Mass., 320. 

t Winthrop, I., 38. § Winthrop, I., 50. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WIN THRO P. ^}) 

caused ill feeling on the part of Dudley, who claimed that 
Winthrop had broken his promise to build at Cambridge. 
Winthrop replied that he had acted rightly ; that he had 
built a house at Cambridge, as he had agreed, but that the 
rest of the assistants had declined to build there ; and 
that he had promised his neighbours in Boston he would 
not leave them, unless the other assistants did.* At 
another time Winthrop complained to Dudley "that he 
did not well to bestow such cost about wainscoating and 
adorning his house, in the beginning of a plantation, both 
in regard of the necessity of public charges, and for 
example." Dudley replied "that it was for the warmth 
of his house, and the charge was little, being but clap- 
boards nailed to the wall in the form of wainscoat.f This 
ill feeling on the part of Dudley continued, and near the 
end of the second year he tendered a resignation of his 
ofBce.J 

Sessions of the Court of Assistants were held in March 
and in April. At the first session it was ordered that Sir 
Christopher Gardiner and Mr. Wright be sent, as prison- 
ers, to England, in the ship Lion; and that six other 
persons named should be sent to England, in the same 
ship, or in the next ship after, "as persons unmeet to 
inhabit here."§ At the second session, the number of 
assistants had been so reduced by death and return of 
members to England, that it was difficult to procure the 
attendance of seven at any session, which number was 

* Winthrop, I., 82. t Ibid, 72. 

t Ibid, 73. § Mass. Records, I., 82, 83. 



84 THE BAY COLONY. 

prescribed as a quorum, in the charter ; and it was 
ordered that, when the number of assistants should be less 
than nine, a majority of them might hold a court.* At a 
session held April 12, the court was called upon for the 
first time to deal with a dissenter from the ecclesiastical 
polity which had been inaugurated. Mr. Roger Williams, 
a radical Separatist minister, arrived at Boston in the ship 
Lion, in February. After some experience in Boston he 
removed to Salem, and was there called to the office of 
teacher, made vacant by the death of Mr. Higginson ; and 
at this session of the Court, according to Winthrop (" Upon 
information to the governor, that they of Salem had called 
Mr. Williams to the office of a teacher), a letter was 
written from the Court to Mr. Endicott to this effect : 
That whereas Mr. Williams had refused to join with the 
congregation at Boston, because they would not make a 
public declaration of their repentance for having commun- 
ion with the churches of England while they lived there ; 
and, besides, had declared his opinion, that the magistrate 
might not punish the breach of the Sabbath, nor any 
other offence, as it was a breach of the first table ; there- 
fore they marvelled they would choose him without advis- 
ing with the council ; and withal desiring him that they 
would forbear to proceed till they had conferred about 
it."f Mr. Williams soon after left Salem for Plymouth, 
where " he exercised his gifts amongst them, and after 
some time was admitted a member of the church ; and his 
teaching well approved. "J At the same session of the 

* Mass. Records, I., 84. t Winthrop, I., 53. \ Bradford, 310. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. 85 

Court, it was ordered, that every captain shall train his 
company on Saturday in every week,* and it was after- 
wards ordered that there should be a general training 
once a month. f At a session of the Court, May 3, J 
Thomas Walford, of Charlestown, was fined ten pounds, 
and, with his wife, ordered to depart out of the limits of 
the patent before October 30 next, " for his contempt of 
authority and confronting officers." At the same session, 
an action by Thomas Dexter against Mr. Endicott for 
assault and battery was tried by a jury, who found for the 
plaintiff and assessed damages in the sum of ten pounds. § 

Several persons, including Mr. Saltonstall and a portion 
of his family, and Mr. Wilson and Mr. Coddington, who 
were to bring back their families, returned to England in 
the ship Lion, which sailed from Salem April i. Mr. 
Wilson appointed Winthrop, Dudley, and Nowell the 
ruling elder, to preach to his congregation in his 
absence. || 

The first session of the General Court for elections 
in the colony was held at Boston, May 18, 163 1. At this 
session, one hundred and sixteen persons, including most 
of those who applied at the October session, took the 
oath and were admitted as freemen. It does not appear 
that they took any part at this session ; perhaps they 
were not admitted until the business of the session had 
been concluded. It seems to have been deemed necessary 
by those in authority to strengthen the position they had 

* Mass. Records, I., 85. } Ibid, 86. || Ibid, 50. 

t Ibid, 90. § Winthrop, I., 49-51. 



86 THE BAY COLONY. 

taken at the previous session ; and, according to the 
record, — " For explanation of an order made the last 
General Court, holden the 19 of October last, it was 
ordered now, with full consent of all the commons then 
present, that once in every year, at least, a General Court 
shall be holden, at which court it shall be lawful for the 
commons to propound any person or persons whom they 
shall desire to be chosen assistants and if it be doubtful 
whether it be the greater part of the commons or not, 
it shall be put to the poll. The like course to be holden 
when they, the said commons, shall see cause for any 
defect or misbehaviour, to remove any one or more of the 
assistants." * 

The meaning of this was, that the present members of 
the Court of Assistants should continue in office, unless 
removed by the freemen for defect or misbehaviour ; and 
that for additional members, the freemen might propose 
candidates, whose names should be submitted to the 
General Court, to be voted for. In accordance with this 
order, no assistants were voted for at this session ; but 
Winthrop was chosen governor, and Dudley, deputy gov- 
ernor, by the general consent of the Court, although at its 
previous session the power to elect these officers was 
delegated to the assistants. 

Another important step was taken with a view to 
retaining the reins of government in the hands of the 
better portion of the community, by the adoption of the 
following order : " And to the end the body of the com- 

* Mass. Records, I., 87. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. 8/ 

mons may be preserved of honest and good men, it was 
likewise ordered and agreed that for time to come no man 
shall be admitted to the freedom of this body politic, but 
such as are members of some of the churches within the 
limits of the same." * That there should be no misunder- 
standing as to what churches were intended, the General 
Court, in 1636, declared that it would not approve of any 
church, unless it should have the approbation of the 
magistrates and of the elders of a majority of the churches 
within the jurisdiction ; and it was further ordered, "that 
no person, being a member of any church which shall 
hereafter be gathered without the approbation of the 
magistrates and the greater part of the said churches, 
shall be admitted to the freedom of this Commonwealth ; " f 
and in 1637 it was ordered that none but freemen should 
be appointed captains or other inferior officers of the 
train bands ; the conclusion of which order was, " for it is 
the intent and order of the Court that no person shall 
henceforth be chosen to any office in the Commonwealth 
but such as is a freeman." \ 

Early in the summer of 163 1, Mr. Phillips, the pastor, 
and Mr. Brown, the elder of the church at Watertown, 
published an opinion that the churches of Rome were true 
churches. Whereupon, the governor and deputy, Mr. 
Nowell, the elder, and some of the members of the church 
at Boston, visited Watertown, and met with Mr. Phillips 
and Brown, and their congregation. The subject was 
debated, when, by a vote of all present except three, " it 

*Mass. Records. I., 87. t Ibid, 168. \ Ibid, 188. 



88 THE BAY COLONY. 

was concluded an error."* But Brown persisted in his 
opinion, and maintained "other errors," of which the 
Court of Assistants took notice, and addressed a letter to 
the pastor and brethren of the Watertown church, advis- 
ing them to consider whether Brown was fit to be con- 
tinued their elder. After considering the matter for 
several weeks, a reply was made that if they would prove 
such things as were objected against him, they would 
endeavour to redress them. The congregation was di- 
vided on the subject, and, in December, both parties 
applied to the governor for assistance. Whereupon the 
governor, deputy governor, and Mr. Nowell again met 
with the congregation at Watertown. The governor 
stated to the assembly that he and his associates would 
act in one of three capacities — as magistrates who had 
been invited to assist, as members of a neighbouring con- 
gregation, or with reference to the answer they had made 
to the letter from the assistants, which did not satisfy 
them. Mr. Phillips desired that they would sit with them 
as members of a . neighbouring congregation only, to 
which the governor consented. After much debate, the 
parties became reconciled, and agreed to seek God in a 
day of humiliation, each party promising to reform what 
had been amiss, and the pastor gave thanks to God, and 
the assembly was dismissed.! I^ut the strife in the Water- 
town congregation continued, and in July next, 1632, the 
Court of Assistants " gave the Separatists a day to come in 
or else to be proceeded against." On the day appointed, 

* Winthrop, I., 5S. t Ibid, 67, 68. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. 89 

all came in and submitted except John Masters, who, 
though he was advised by divers ministers and others 
that he had offended, " in turning his back upon the 
sacrament, and departing out of the assembly, etc., be- 
cause they had then admitted a member whom he judged 
unfit, etc., yet he persisted." A time was given him to 
consider the matter, but continuing obstinate, they excom- 
municated him. " But about a fortnight after, he sub- 
mitted himself, and was received in again." * 

Another question was raised by Watertown, in Feb- 
ruary, 1632. A warrant had been sent to levy eight 
pounds, the proportion for Watertown of a tax of sixty 
pounds ordered for the expense of fortifying at Cambridge. 
The pastor and elder, at an assembly of the people, ex- 
pressed the opinion " that it was not safe to pay monies 
after that sort, for fear of bringing themselves and pos- 
terity into bondage." They claimed that the government, 
meaning the Court of Assistants, had only the powers of 
the mayor and aldermen of a city, and could not make 
laws, or levy taxes without authority from the people. 

The Court of Assistants cited the pastor and elder by 
letter, and the people by a warrant, to a session of the 
court to be held at Watertown, at which court the answer 
was made to the claim of the pastor and elder, that the 
Court of Assistants was in the nature of a parliament ; 
that assistants could only be elected by the freemen, who 
had the right to remove them and elect others in their 
places, and that at every General Court the freemen had 

*Winthrop, I., 81. 



90 THE BAY COLONY. 

the right to consider and propound anything regarding 
the government, and to declare their grievances freely. 
The Court of Assistants was plainly in error in assuming 
that it had parliamentary powers. All legislative author- 
ity, including the power to lay taxes, resided in the Gen- 
eral Court, to be exercised by the freemen at its sessions. 
These powers could not be legally delegated to any other 
body. But the explanation made by the court, for the 
time, fully satisfied the people, and they made a retraction 
and submission under their hands, and were enjoined to 
read it in the assembly the ne.xt Lord's day, which sub- 
mission was accepted, and their offence pardoned.* 

The order passed by the General Court, restricting the 
rights of the freemen in the election of governor and 
assistants, was looked upon by the people as an unjusti- 
fiable assumption of power. 

At a meeting of the Court of Assistants held at Boston, 
April 1 2, Winthrop stated " that he had heard that the 
people intended at the next General Court to desire, that 
the assistants might be chosen anew every year," and that 
the governor be elected by the freemen, and not by the 
assistants. One of the magistrates, in a passion, said that 
they should have no government, but every man could do 
as he pleased. This was replied to, to the satisfaction of 
the rest of the assistants, but did not convince the refrac- 
tory member, who protested that if done, he should return 
to England.! 

It is evident that the Court of Assistants was satisfied 

* Winthrop, I., 70. t Ibid, 74. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. 9 1 

that the position taken by the people was a correct one, 
and at the session of the General Court in May following, 
"it was generally agreed upon, by erection of hands, that 
the governor, deputy governor, and assistants should be 
chosen by the whole court of governor, deputy governor, 
assistants, and freemen, and that the governor shall always 
be chosen out of the assistants."* The freemen found 
no fault with the manner in which the government had 
been administered. They desired only to assert and 
maintain their rights under the charter. They were 
satisfied with the vote that was passed, and re-elected 
the governor "and all the rest as before," f adding to the 
assistants, Humphrey and Coddington, who were daily 
expected, and John Winthrop, Jr., son of the governor. 

The question of the right of the Court of Assistants to 
lay taxes without the consent of the people, which had 
been started at Watertown, although temporarily disposed 
of, was evidently made a live issue with the freemen there 
and in other places before the annual session of the 
General Court, to which the attention of the governor 
and assistants was called ; and at the session which was 
held in May, the assistants wisely concluded to make 
concessions to satisfy the freemen on the subject ; and 
an order was passed, apparently by general consent, 
"that there should be two of every plantation appointed 
to confer with the court about raising of a public stock,":): 
and the appointments were made at the session. The 

• Mass. Records, I., 95. t Winthrop, I., 75. 

t Mass. Records, I., 95. 



92 THE BAY COLONY. 

purpose of this order was to have a representation from 
the freemen to advise with the Court of Assistants in the 
laying of taxes. It was a step towards the organization 
of two branches of the General Court, in imitation of the 
English system — the one to represent the aristocracy 
and the other the body of the freemen. A line between 
the two classes had already been drawn. The assistants, 
exercising judicial powers, were also known as the magis- 
trates ; and all others as freemen, or the commons. At 
this session, Dudley submitted the validity of his resigna- 
tion to the General Court, and it was voted to be a 
nullity. He accepted his place again ; and according to 
Winthrop, "all things were carried very lovingly amongst 
all, and the people carried themselves with much silence 
and modesty." * 

The number of immigrants in the year 1632 was about 
two hundred and fifty. Of those who came over, were 
Mr. Wilson and family ; Richard Dummer, afterwards 
assistant, and treasurer of the colony, and one of the first 
settlers of Newbury ; Mr. Thomas Weld, who soon after 
his arrival was ordained minister at Roxbury; Timothy 
Haverly, one of the first settlers at Scituate ; Mr. Stephen 
Bachelor, who, although looked upon with distrust at the 
time of his arrival, was allowed to officiate as pastor in 
Lynn and several other places ; and Mr. Thomas James, 
who was ordained minister at Charlestown. Mr. John 
Eliot, who came over the preceding year, was appointed 
teacher at Roxbury. f Mr. Eliot is known as the 

♦Winthrop, I., 76. t Ibid, 77, 78, 93. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WIN THRO P. 93 

Apostle to the Indians. Upon his settlement at Roxbury 
he took a very deep interest in the welfare of the savages ; 
and devoted a large part of a long life in educating them 
and improving their condition. He learned to speak in 
their tongue, and to preach to them without the aid of 
an interpreter ; and soon was able to reduce their 
language to such method as to translate into it the Bible 
and other books. 

In July, Dudley renewed his complaints against Win- 
throp before a meeting of the elders. They consisted 
principally of charges that he had exceeded his authority 
as chief executive of the colony in several instances. But 
there was nothing proved that reflected upon the honour 
or integrity of the governor ; and all that he had done he 
might well justify under the circumstances in which he 
had been placed. The hearing resulted in a reconciliation 
of the governor and deputy, and they " ever after keep 
peace and good correspondency together in love and 
friendship." * 

The same month the congregation at Boston sought 
the advice of the elders and brethren of other churches 
upon the question, whether a person could, at the same 
time, hold the office of a civil magistrate and a ruling 
elder ; if not, then which office should he resign ; also if 
there might be more than one pastor of any church. 
They replied in the negative to the first question, and 
doubtful as to the others, f 

In the winter intelligence was received that the French, 

* Winthrop, I., 82, 89. t Ibid, 81. 



94 THE BAY COLONY. 

who were in possession of Acadia, had rifled a trading 
house on the Penobscot belonging to the Plymouth people, 
and apprehensions were felt that they intended to push 
their settlement further south, and interfere with the set- 
tlements of Massachusetts Bay ; and at a meeting of the 
Court of Assistants it was decided that the fort begun at 
Roxbury should be finished ; " also that a plantation 
should be begun at Agawam (being the best place in the 
land for tillage and cattle), lest an enemy, finding it void^ 
should possess and take it from us." John Winthrop, Jr.^ 
was deputed to commence the plantation, with twelve men, 
more to be supplied on the next arrival of ships.* 

In the meantime, Morton, Gardiner, and Ratcliff, sup- 
ported by Mason and Gorges, had prepared and presented 
a petition to the lords of the Privy Council, alleging that 
there was much distraction and disorder in the New Eng- 
land plantations. Upon the hearing on the petition, at 
the court at Whitehall, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Mr. 
Cradock, Mr. Humphrey, and Emanuel Downing appeared 
for the colony. " The principal matter they had against 
us," says Winthrop, " was the letters of some indiscreet 
persons among us who had written against the church 
government in England, etc., which had been intercepted.! 
The Privy Council made an order on the petition, of date 

* Winthrop, I., 99. 

t " The form of the attack gave peculiar significance to Williams' con- 
duct, since it was based on intercepted letters in which some of the colo- 
nists had denounced the church government of the mother country."' 
Doyle's Puritan Colonies, I., 118. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. 95 

January 19, 1633, in which it is stated, in substance, that 
they had heard the parties ; that most of the charges were 
denied, which would require witnesses from the place ; 
that men, provisions, and merchandise were being des- 
patched there, and that all would be at a stand if the 
colonists should suspect that the government did not have 
a good opinion of the plantation ; that they did not lay 
the fault or fancies of some individuals upon the govern- 
ment, or principal men there ; that in due time the matter 
would be further inquired into ; and they declared that, in 
the meantime, it was so probable that the plantation would 
prove beneficial to the kingdom and profitable to the 
adventurers, that they had cause to go on cheerfully, and 
to " rest assured if things were carried on as pretended 
when the patents were granted, and accordingly as by the 
patent it is appointed. His Majesty would not only main- 
tain the liberties and privileges heretofore granted, but 
supply anything further that might tend to the good gov- 
ernment, prosperity, and comfort of his people there."* 

Upon receipt of information of these proceedings, the 
governor and assistants prepared and sent to England an 
answer to the petition, and with it a statement signed by 
the old planters, concerning the manner in which affairs 
had been conducted here.f 

The year 1633 was comparatively uneventful in the 

colony. At the annual session of the General Court in 

May, but little was done except to re-elect the governor, 

.deputy governor and assistants. But immigration was 

* Hubbard, 152. Winthrop, I., 103. t Winthrop, I., 106. 



96 THE BAY COLONY. 

increasing. This year about seven hundred persons 
arrived. Among them were Mr. John Cotton, Mr. Hooker, 
and Mr. Samuel Stone, ministers ; Mr. Haynes, Mr, Goffe, 
and Mr. Pierce, "men of good estates."* Mr. Cotton was 
chosen teacher of the congregation at Boston, and or- 
dained by impositions of hands, October 10, and the next 
day Mr. Hooker was chosen pastor and Mr. Stone teacher 
of the congregation at Newtown, and were ordained in the 
same manner that Mr. Cotton had been.f 

Probably Oldham had become reconciled to the govern- 
ment, as he was admitted as freeman in 1631. Oldham, 
who had settled at Watertown, was appointed on the com- 
mittee upon public stock for Watertown in 1632, and was 
afterwards elected deputy from that town, and had a 
grant of five hundred acres of land made to him. J 

In April, 1634, it was ordered by the Court of Assist- 
ants that lands granted, which were not built upon or 
improved within three years, should be forfeited. It was 
also ordered that a committee of each town should survey 
the lands which had been granted to individuals, and make 
an entry of the same in a book to be kept for the purpose. § 

The punishments inflicted for offences in the nearly 
three years that had elapsed since the arrival of Winthrop, 
were fines, whipping, setting in the stocks or " bilboes," 
banishment, and, in case of Ratcliff, the cutting off his ears, 
fine, and banishment, "for uttering malicious and scandal- 
ous speeches against the government and the Church of 

* Winthrop, I., 109. | Mass. Records, I., 95, 114. 

t Ibid, 114, 115. § Ibid, 114, 116. 



THE BEGINNING UNDER WINTHROP. ()7 

Salem." * In one other case, the branding on the cheek 
of Richard Hopkins for selling guns and ammunition to 
the Indians,! and in another, the branding in the hand of 
Nicholas Frost, for stealing from the Indians, and other 
specified offences. J These punishments at the present 
time would be deemed in the highest degree cruel and in- 
defensible, but it should be remembered what the punish- 
ments for offences were at that time in England. The 
cutting off of hands and ears, the slitting of the nose, and 
branding, were usual punishments for what were deemed 
the higher class of crimes. Disobedience of the mandates 
of the Church, speaking contemptuously of its bishops 
or ministers, were offences scarcely less than those of 
treason. A marked instance of punishment for an offence 
against the Church occurred in the summer of 1630, 
a few months after the grant of the charter to the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony. Dr. Leighton published, in Eng- 
land, a book entitled " An Appeal to Parliament, or Sion's 
Plea against Prelacy," in which he maintained that God's 
children were subjected to a most cruel persecution ; that 
the bishops were men of blood ; that prelacy was anti- 
Christian and satanical ; that the queen was a daughter 
of Heth ; and that the king was abused by the bishops 
to the undoing of himself and his people. At the instiga- 
tion of Laud, to whom the king had committed the gov- 
ernment of the Church, Leighton was brought before the 
lords in the Star Chamber ; his plea that he had written 
through zeal and not malice was disregarded. He was 

* Mass. Records, I., 88. t Ibid, 99. \ Ibid, 100. 



98 THE BAY COLONY. 

sentenced to pay a fine of ten thousand pounds, was 
degraded from the ministry, pubHcly whipped in the 
palace yard, placed in the pillory for two hours, had an 
ear cut off, a nostril slit open, and a cheek branded with 
the letters s. s., to denote a sower of sedition. At the 
expiration of a week he underwent a second whipping, 
was again placed in the pillory, had his other ear cut off, 
his other nostril slit, and his other cheek branded. He 
was then sentenced to imprisonment for life ; and it was 
only at the end of ten years that he obtained his liberty 
from the Parliament, then in arms against Charles.* 

* Rush, II., 56. Lingard Hist. England, IX., 306 and 307, and for other 
similar punishments, Lingard, IX., 318-326. 

Blackstone, nearly a century later, says, " It is a melancholy truth, that 
among the variety of actions which men are daily liable to commit, no less 
than one hundred and sixty have been declared by act of Parliament to be 
felonies without benefit of clergy ; or, in other words, to be worthy of instant 
death." — Blackstone's Commentaries, Ed. 1803, Book IV., 19. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. TROUBLE WITH 

ROGER WILLIAMS. 

THE year 1634 was an eventful one in the history of 
the colony. There was much uneasiness felt by the 
freemen in regard to the powers exercised by the Court of 
Assistants. After the notice of the annual meeting of the 
General Court in May had been issued, each town elected 
three representatives who were to meet with the represen- 
tatives from other towns to consider the business to be 
transacted at that court. They met, probably, on the 
morning of the first day of the session, which was held in 
the meeting-house in Boston, when they " desired a sight 
of the patent," and came to the conclusion that under it the 
law-making power was vested in the General Court. Upon 
which they repaired to the governor to advise with him 
about it, and about some orders that had been made. The 
governor stated to them that when the patent was granted 
it was supposed that the number of freemen would be so 
small that they might well join in the making of laws, but 
they had grown into such a large body that it was not 
possible for them to make or execute laws ; that hereafter 
it would be necessary to have persons selected for the duty, 
but that at present there was not a sufficient number of 

99 



lOO THE BAY COLONY. 

men qualified for the business ; and he proposed for the 
present, that an order be passed that once a year, after 
summons from the governor, representatives should be 
chosen to revise the laws, and to reform what they found 
amiss in them ; that they should not make new laws, but 
prefer their grievances to the Court of Assistants ; and 
that no tax be laid or land disposed of, without the consent 
of such representatives.* 

These views of the governor were evidently unsatis- 
factory to the deputies, who were determined to assert 
and maintain the rights of the freemen under the 
charter. 

The feeling upon the subject was increased by the 
election sermon by Mr. Cotton, in which he laid down the 
doctrine '' that a magistrate ought not to be turned into 
the condition of a private man without just cause, and to 
be publicly convict, no more than the magistrates may 
not turn a private man out of his freehold, etc., without 
like public trial, etc." f The deputies determined to 
make a test of their authority, by an effort to make a 
change in the office of governor. The vote for governor 
was taken by "papers," and not by "rising of hands," as 
theretofore,^ and resulted in the election of Mr. Dudley 
in place of Mr. Winthrop. Mr. Ludlow was chosen 
deputy governor, and Mr. Coddington, treasurer. The 
deputies were satisfied with this change, as a vindication 
of the rights of the freeman, and they re-elected the 
assistants, excepting Mr. Ludlow, who had been chosen 

* Winthrop, I., 128, 129. t Ibid, 132. \ Ibid, 132, n. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. lOI 

deputy governor, and Mr. Saltonstall, who was in England, 
and added to them Mr. Winthrop and Mr. Humphrey, 
who was on the way over, and who arrived in June. 

The General Court continued in session three days. 

At this session it was voted, "that none but the Gen- 
eral Court hath power to choose and admit freemen," 
which power had heretofore been assumed by the Court 
of Assistants. Also, "that none but the General Court 
hath power to make and establish laws, nor to elect and 
appoint officers, as governor, deputy governor, assistants, 
treasurer, secretary, captains, lieutenants, ensigns, or any of 
like moment, or to remove such upon misdemeanour, as also 
to set out the duties and powers of the said officers." 
Also, "that none but the General Court hath power to 
raise moneys and taxes, and to dispose of lands, viz., to 
give and confirm proprieties." Also, "that there shall be 
four general courts held yearly, to be summoned by the 
governor for the time being, and not to be dissolved with- 
out the consent of the major part of the court." It was 
also ordered that the freemen of each town may, before 
the annual session of the General Court, choose two or 
three persons who shall meet and confer, and prepare 
such matters as they desire to have considered at the 
session, and that the persons so chosen may represent the 
freemen of their several towns at all sessions of the Gen- 
eral Court, in all matters, except in the election of magis- 
trates and all other officers, which shall be by the votes 
of the freemen. Thus the General Court resumed the 
powers it had previously voted to delegate to the Court 



I02 THE BAY COLONY. 

of Assistants, and took an advanced step towards a repre- 
sentative government, not specially authorised by the 
charter. The order previously passed, to limit the free- 
men to members of churches, was not repealed, and 
remained substantially without change during the con- 
tinuance of the charter government. It was also ordered 
that thereafter taxes should be laid on property instead 
of on polls, as had been the custom. 

At this session provision was made for summoning 
jurors, and it was ordered, "that no trial shall pass upon 
any, for life or banishment, but by a jury so summoned, 
or by the General Court." Also, at this session, the 
Court of Assistants was fined ten pounds for employing 
Indians "to shoot with pieces," contrary to an order of 
the court. But the fine was remitted before the close of 
the session. Also a committee was appointed to take an 
account of Mr. Winthrop for the public moneys he had 
received. One hundred and six freemen were admitted 
at this session, making the whole number admitted three 
hundred and sixty-six.* 

Although the complaints made by Morton and others 
had been disposed of favourably to the colonists the year 
before, in the meantime a great change had taken place 
in the disposition of the Privy Council toward the colony. 

Abbott, Archbishop of Canterbury, died in August, 
1633, and was immediately succeeded by Laud, who was 
also a privy councillor. No public man in England was 
more obnoxious to the reformers. He was believed to 

* Mass. Records, 1 17-120. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. I03 

be at heart a papist, and had already shown a disposition 
to persecute the nonconformists without mercy. He " in- 
tended that the discipHne of the Church should be felt as 
well as spoken of." His power was at once felt in the 
Privy Council. His attention had undoubtedly been 
drawn to the large emigration in 1633, and to the fact 
that among those who went over were several who had 
eluded the efforts of the Court of High Commission for 
their arrest. Mr. Humphrey, who arrived in June, 1634, 
brought the intelligence that, in February preceding, ten 
large ships with passengers were about to sail from Eng- 
land, when an order in council was issued, setting forth 
that " the Board is given to understand of the frequent 
transportation of great numbers of His Majesty's subjects 
out of this kingdom to the plantation of Nciv England, 
amongst whom divers persons known to be ill-affected, 
discontented not only with civil but ecclesiastical govern- 
ment here, are observed to resort thither, whereby such 
confusion and distraction is already grown there, espe- 
cially in point of religion, as beside the ruin of the said 
plantation, cannot but highly tend to the scandal both of 
Church and State here," and it was commanded that 
" divers ships now in the river of Thames, ready to set sail 
thither, freighted with passengers and provisions," should 
be detained, and that Mr. Cradock should produce before 
the Board, the charter of the Massachusetts Company.* 
" But upon the petition of the shipmasters (alleging how 
[beneficial] this plantation was to England) in regard to 

* Hubbard, 153, 154. 



I04 THE BAY COLONY. 

the Newfoundland fishing, which they took in their way 
homeward, the ships were at that time released." * 

A letter from Cradock was received, requesting that 
the charter be sent to him. Upon the receipt of the 
letter the governor and assistants, after a long consulta- 
tion, "returned answer to Mr. Cradock, excusing that it 
could not be done but by a General Court, which was to 
be holden in September next." The governor and Mr. 
Winthrop also wrote letters to England, and sent them by 
Mr. Winslow "to mediate their peace." These acts of 
the Privy Council caused great uneasiness ; and, July 29, 
the governor and assistants, with some of the ministers 
and others, met at Castle Island, and agreed to erect two 
platforms and a small fortification there, and to contribute 
five pounds each for the expense of it, until a tax could be 
laid at the next General Court, f 

But the colonists were soon to be subjected to a far 
more severe trial. Early in August, Jeffries, one of the 
old planters, received a letter from Morton, of date May 
I, which he delivered to Winthrop, in which he gave 
information that, upon renewal of complaints, the Privy 
Council had declared the Massachusetts patent to be 
void ; and that the king had " reassumed the whole busi- 
ness into his own hands, and given order for a general 
governor for the whole territory to be sent over ; " that 
the commission had passed the Privy Seal,| and that he 
had seen it. This information caused the greatest alarm. 
A session of the General Court was called and held at 

* Winthrop, I., 135. t Ibid, 137. \ Hubbard, 428. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. IO5 

Cambridge, September 3, and continued in session a week, 
when it was adjourned to September 28. 

Seldom, if ever, have the representatives of a people 
been called upon to meet questions fraught with more 
momentous consequences to their constituents than were 
those presented to the assistants and deputies at this 
session. If a general governor with unrestricted powers 
should be admitted, the ruin of the colony would be 
inevitable, and the high purposes for which the colonists 
had done and suffered so much would be defeated. It 
was a crisis requiring the exercise of the greatest fortitude 
and the most consummate wisdom and prudence. But the 
men at the head of affairs were equal to the emergency. 
It was a question of life and of death which confronted 
them.* 

It was evident that there was entire unanimity in the 
results of their deliberations ; that they determined to do 
and say nothing that would tend to exasperate the king, 
but that, if driven to the necessity, they would venture all 
in the defence of their rights and liberties. In the 
records of the session no reference is made to the com- 
mission, not a word which when known to the king could 
be construed into a menace or defiance of his authority. 
In the significant words of Winthrop, the members dis- 
covered "our minds each to other,"f and proceeded to the 
important work of the session. 

It was first " ordered there should be a platform 

* For this and following pages see Mass. Records, I., 123-143. 
t Winthrop, I., 144. 



I06 THE BAY COLONY. 

made on the northeast side of Castle Island, and an house 
built on the top of the hill to defend the said platform," 

" It was further ordered, that warrants shall be sent to 
the constable of every plantation, to send in money or 
workmen to make that which they have already done, 
three days apiece towards the fort at Boston, both of 
newcomers and others, for every hand able to work, 
(except magistrates and ministers,) that are behind, to be 
delivered to Captain Underbill, before the next Court of 
Assistants." 

It was also ordered, " And for all extraordinary public 
work, that the overseer of the work and an assistant 
shall have power to send their warrant to the constable of 
any plantation to send so many of any condition, except 
magistrates and officers of churches and Commonwealth, 
as the warrant shall direct, which the constable and two 
or more that he shall choose, shall forthwith send." 

It was "further ordered that there shall be a fortifica- 
tion made at the point near Robert Moulton's at Charles- 
town, and another either at the deputy governor's or at 
Fox's point, whichever the committees for that business 
shall judge most convenient for fortification, and how 
many pieces shall be in each place, is referred to the 
committees and overseers of the works ; this is to be done 
by the public, provided, that if Salem shall so fortify 
themselves as to satisfy the Court within this twelve 
months, that then they shall have such moneys returned 
them as they have contributed to the said forts of 
Castle Island, Charlestown, and Dorchester." 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. lO/ 

A committee was appointed to determine upon the 
places for these forts, and to lay them out, with authority 
to order any addition to the fort at Boston. 

It was also ordered that the captains train their bands 
once every month, except in July and August, and " that 
the captains shall have liberty to train all such unskilful 
men as are at their own hands, so often as they please, 
provided they exceed not three days in a week." 

It was further ordered " that the present governor, John 
Winthrop, Senior, John Haynes, John Humphrey, and 
John Endicott, Esq., shall have power to consult, direct, 
and give command for the managing and ordering of any 
war that may befall us for the space of a year next 
ensuing, and till further order be taken herein." Over- 
seers of the powder and shot and all other ammunition in 
the several plantations were appointed. 

It was also ordered "that all the muskets, bandeleroes, 
and rests lately come over this year, shall be equally 
divided amongst the several plantations ; and the towns 
to have at all times so many in a readiness as a town 
stock." 

Also, authority was given to impress men and carts for 
ordinary wages to help make carriages and wheels for the 
ordnance ; also, that an oath be administered to the cap- 
tains and overseers of arms. A cannoneer was appointed 
for the fort at Boston. It was further ordered that every 
trained soldier, as well pikemen as others, should be pro- 
vided with muskets, bandeleroes, rests, powder, and shot, 
and that no trained soldier should make a shot upon train- 



I08 THE BAY COLONY. 

ing day, except with bullets, at a mark, by direction of the 
captains. Orders were also passed for furnishing Salem, 
Ipswich, and Saugus with ordnance, A tax of ^600 
was also laid. 

At a session of the General Court, held at Cambridge 
in March following, an order was passed forbidding, under 
a very heavy penalty, any person from going on board any 
ship in any harbour, without the consent of an assistant, 
until it has been in the harbour twenty-four hours, and 
then only upon it being known that it was a friendly ship. 

It was also ordered " that there shall be, forthwith, a 
beacon set on the sentry hill at Boston, to give notice to 
the country of any danger, and that there shall be a ward 
of one person kept there from the first of April to the last 
of September, and that upon the discovery of any danger, 
the beacon shall be fired, an alarm given, as also messen- 
gers presently sent by that town, where the danger is dis- 
covered, to all other towns within this jurisdiction." 

It was also ordered that hereafter farthings shall not 
pass for current pay, and that musket bullets of a full bore 
shall pass current for a farthing each. 

It was further ordered that the governor, deputy gov- 
ernor, John Winthrop, John Humphrey, John Haynes, 
John Endicott, William Coddington, William Pynchon, 
Increase Nowell, Richard Bellingham, Esq., and Simon 
Bradstreet, who are deputed to dispose of all military 
matters, " shall have full power to ordain or remove all 
military officers, and to make and tender to them an oath 
suitable to their places, to dispose of all companies, to 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. lOQ 

make orders for them, and to make and tender to them a 
suitable oath, and to see that strict discipline and train- 
ings be observed, and to command them forth upon any 
occasion they think meet to make either offensive or 
defensive war, as also to do whatsoever may be further 
behooful for the good of this plantation in case of any 
war that may befall us ; and also that the aforesaid com- 
missioners, or the major part of them, shall have power to 
imprison or confine any that they shall judge to be ene- 
mies to the Commonwealth, and such as will not come 
under command or restraint, as they shall be required ; it 
shall be lawful for the said commissioners to put such 
persons to death. This order to continue till the end of 
the next General Court." 

This order, in substance, was renewed at the sessions 
of the General Court until the session in October, 1636, 
when the commission was transferred to the standing 
council, until further order. It was also ordered that all 
males, of or above the age of sixteen, take the resident's 
and qualified freemen's oath. 

At the request of the governor and assistants, all the 
ministers of the colony, except Mr. Ward of Ipswich, who 
had just come over, met at Boston, January 19, and the 
question was propounded to them : " What we ought to 
do if a general governor should be sent out of England." 

" They all agreed that if a general governor were sent, 
we ought not to accept him, but to defend our lawful pos- 
sessions (if we were able); otherwise to avoid or protract."* 

* Winthrop, I., 154. 



no THE BAY COLONY. 

It is very evident from these, proceedings that the colo- 
nists were determined, as a last resort, to defend their 
lawful possessions by force. They hoped to avert this 
through diplomacy. Perhaps it was in their minds that the 
show of a power of resistance might tend to the discour- 
agement of the king, who well knew that the sympathies 
of a very large portion of the English people were with 
the colonists ; and that an attempt, on his part, to deprive 
them of their chartered rights and liberties by force, might 
endanger the peace of England. But whether this was so 
or not, it is plain that the colonists were determined not 
to yield without a struggle ; that the whole power of the 
colony must be broken, before a ship with a general gov- 
ernor could enter either of its harbours.* 

After the passage of these orders for defence, the 
assistants and deputies proceeded to the ordinary work of 
the sessions. At the September session in 1634, Win- 
throp, in reply to the order of the General Court for an 
account of public moneys under his administration, sub- 
mitted a statement showing that he had expended large 
sums from his private property for the support of the 
colony, for which he had not been reimbursed ; and, 

* " April 26, 1635. An alarm was raised in all our towns, and the gov- 
ernor and assistants met at Boston, and sent forth a shallop to Cape Ann, 
to discover what ships were there. For the fishermen had brought in word to 
Marblehead, that two ships had been hovering upon the coast all the day ; 
one of about four hundred tons and the other three hundred and fifty, and 
were gone into Cape Ann. But it proved to be only one ship of eighty 
tons, bound for Richmond's Isle, and the other a small pinnace of ten 
tons." — Winthrop, I., 157. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. I I I 

regarding the order as reflecting upon his integrity, con- 
cluded his statement as follows : 

" In all these things, I refer myself to the wisdom and 
justice of the court, with this protestation, that it re- 
penteth me not of my cost or labour bestowed in the 
service of this Commonwealth, but do heartily bless the 
Lord our God, that He hath pleased to honour me so far 
as to call for anything He hath bestowed upon me for the 
service of His church and people here, the prosperity 
whereof and His gracious acceptance shall be an abun- 
dant recompence to me. I conclude with this one re- 
quest {which in justice may not be denied me), that as it 
stands upon record, that upon the discharge of my 
office, I was called to account, so this, my declaration, 
may be recorded also, lest hereafter when I shall be for- 
gotten some blemish may lie upon my posterity, when 
there shall be nothing to clear it." 

It was ordered by the General Court that the statement 
be recorded.* 

A large part of the time of the session was occupied in 
considering a request from Mr. Hooker and others at 
Newtown, for permission to remove to Connecticut. 
They claimed that they had not sufficient accommodations 
for their cattle, that the land in Connecticut was very 
fertile, and that, if not occupied, there was danger that 
the Dutch, or some from England, independent of the 
colony, would take possession of it. 

It was objected, that the removal would be prejudicial 
*Mass. Records, I., 130-132. 



112 THE BAY COLONY. 

to the colony, which was weak, and in danger of being 
attacked; that if permission was given, not only many 
would remove, but those who went would attract others 
who should come over ; and an offer was made that they 
might remove to Merrimac, or some other unoccupied 
place in the colony. After discussion, a vote was taken, 
and fifteen deputies voted to grant the request, and ten 
voted against it. Of the governor and assistants, the 
governor voted in favour of the request, as did two as- 
sistants, and the deputy governor and the rest of the 
assistants voted against it. Upon this the governor and 
assistants claimed that permission could not be given 
without the concurrent consent of the governor and as- 
sistants, and of the deputies ; that the governor and 
assistants had a " negative voice " in the matter. This 
was not consented to by the deputies, and as no agree- 
ment could be arrived at, both parties agreed " to keep a 
day of humiliation to seek the Lord, which accordingly 
was done in all the congregations the i8th day of this 
month," and the court adjourned to the 24th day. Upon 
reassembling, Mr. Cotton, being desired by all the court, 
preached a sermon suitable to the occasion. After the 
sermon, the " affairs of the court went on cheerfully," 
and although all were not satisfied to allow the claim of 
the governor and assistants, yet no one made any motion 
on the subject, and the congregation at Newtown accepted 
offers that had been made them by Boston and Water- 
town, and so the matter was settled for the time.* 

* Winthrop, T., 140, 142. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. I I 3 

The founders of the colony had learned from experi- 
ence the difficulty of maintaining the independency of the 
churches without schism, and at the session of the Gen- 
eral Court, in March, 1635, the following vote was 
passed : 

" This court doth entreat of the elders and brethren of every 
church within this jurisdiction that they will consult and advise of 
one uniform order of discipline in the churches, agreeable to the 
Scriptures, and then to consider how far the magistrates are bound 
to interpose for the preservation of that uniformity and peace of the 
churches." * 

Also authority was given for any two assistants to 
censure, either by fine or imprisonment, any person who 
usually absents himself from church meetings upon the 
Lord's day, but no fine exceeding five shillings to be im- 
posed for a single offence, f 

At the General Court in May, 1635, John Haynes was 
chosen governor, and Richard Bellingham deputy gov- 
ernor. All the assistants were re-elected except Endi- 
cott and Ludlow, and Hough and Dummer were elected 
for the first time. At this session, the governor and 
deputy governor were elected by papers, on which their 
names were written, and the assistants were chosen as 
follows : The governor nominated the assistants of the 
previous year separately, and upon each nomination the 
freemen left the room and re-entered by one door, when 
each one deposited a paper in a hat. Those in favour of 
*Mass. Records, I., 142, 143. t Ibid, 140. 



114 THE BAY COLONY. 

the candidate nominated, made a scroll or figures on their 
papers, and those opposed, deposited blank papers.* 

At this session, the proposed removal to Connecticut 
was again considered, and liberty was granted the inhabi- 
tants of Watertown, Roxbury, and Dorchester, to remove 
to any place they should desire to, " provided they con- 
tinued still under this government," and, in March of the 
next year, 1636, commissioners were appointed by the 
General Court for the government of the people who 
should remove to Connecticut.! Although out of the 
limits of the Massachusetts patent, the General Court 
claimed jurisdiction over the territory until it should have 
a settled government, consented to by the persons in Eng- 
land who had obtained a charter for Connecticut, the in- 
habitants there, and the government of Massachusetts Bay. 

At the May session, 1635, Wessacumcon, under the 
name of Newbury, and Marblehead, were allowed to be 
plantations. J 

Meanwhile, the colonists were called upon to deal with 
serious troubles and dissensions in their midst. In the 
autumn of 1633, Roger Williams returned to Salem as an 
assistant to Skelton, and upon his death, in August of the 
next year, was chosen teacher in his place, without the 
consent or approval of the magistrates. The first known 
of Mr. Williams, after his return, was in connection with 
Mr. Skelton, in opposition to meetings of the ministers 
of Boston and Lynn, which had been held at their several 
houses once a fortnight, for conference and discussion ; 

* Winthrop, I., 159. t Mass. Records, I., 146-170. \ Ibid, 146. i.;-. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. I 1 5 

upon the ground that " it might grow in time to a presbe- 
tery, or superintendency, to the prejudice of the churches' 
liberties."* Soon after he was summoned to produce 
before the Court of Assistants a paper he had written 
when at Plymouth, which had caused dissatisfaction with 
some of the principal men there, in which he asserted that 
the charter gave no title to the land ; that the colonists 
were guilty of the sin of unjust usurpation in taking pos- 
session of the land without a title from the Indians ; that 
King James "told a solemn public lie because in his patent 
he blessed God that he was the first Christian Prince that 
had discovered this land ; " and that he was guilty of blas- 
phemy in calling Europe Christendom, or the Christian 
world. He also applied certain passages of Scripture to 
King Charles, f The mischievous effect of this language, 
if published, was evident. It would tend to discredit the 
title under which the people held their lands, and to in- 
crease the ill feeling of the king toward the colonists. It 
was deemed necessary to take formal action regarding the 
paper, and Williams was convented at the next court. J 
But to a letter of the governor stating the action that had 
been taken, Williams replied that he had only intended 
the paper for the satisfaction of the authorities at Ply- 
mouth, without any intention of publishing it, and he 
offered it or any part of it to be burned. He afterwards 
appeared before the Court of Assistants and made satis- 
faction, and no further action was taken. § 

* Winthrop, I., 117. % Ibid, 122. 

t Ibid, 122. §Ibid, 123. 



Il6 THE BAY COLONY. 

In October, 1634, Endicott caused the red cross to be 
cut from the flag of the train band at Salem, at the insti- 
gation, it is said, of Williams. This act caused great anx- 
iety to the magistrates, as it was feared the defacing of the 
national ensign would be regarded by the king as an act 
of rebellion. All regarded the cross as given to the king 
by the Pope, " as an ensign of victory, and so a supersti- 
tious thing, and a relic of Anti- Christ." * Yet they 
regarded the act as in the highest degree imprudent 
under the circumstances in which they were placed ; and, 
at a meeting of the Court of Assistants the next month, 
the matter was considered, and the advice of some of the 
ministers taken, when, according to Winthrop, it was 
"agreed to write to Mr. Downing in England, of the truth 
of the matter under all our hands, that, if occasion were, he 
might show it in our excuse ; for therein we expressed our 
dislike of the thing, and our purpose to punish the offend- 
ers ; yet with as much wariness as we might, being doubt- 
ful of the lawful use of the cross in an ensign, though we 
were clear that fact, as concerning the matter, was very 
unlawful."! 

At the next session of the General Court, held in May, 
1635, the subject was again considered, and a committee, 
consisting of four magistrates and one person from each 
town, was chosen to consider the offence, who, on the 
same day, reported that they " apprehended he (Mr. Endi- 
cott) had offended therein many ways, in rashness, unchar- 
itableness, indiscretion, and exceeding the limits of his 

* Winthrop, I., 146, 147. t Ibid, 150. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. I I / 

calling ; whereupon the court hath censured him to be 
sadly admonished for his offence, which accordingly he 
was, and also disabled for bearing any office in the Com- 
monwealth for the space of a year next ensuing." * Ac- 
cording to Winthrop, " they declining any heavier sentence 
because they were persuaded he did it out of tenderness 
of conscience, and not of any evil intent. "f 

April 30, 1635, Williams was sent for, and charged by 
the Court of Assistants with certain errors in his preach- 
ing. Winthrop says, "He was heard before all the min- 
isters and very clearly confuted. Mr. Endicott was at 
first of the same opinion, but he gave place to the truth. "J 
But Mr. Williams would not yield, and he was summoned, 
and appeared before the General Court at its session in 
September following. The charges made against him, as 
stated by Winthrop, were for divers dangerous opinions, 
viz. : 

1. "That the magistrate ought not to punish the 
breach of the first table, otherwise than in such cases as 
did disturb the civil peace ; " 

2. " That he ought not to tender an oath to an unre- 
generate man ; " 

3. "That a man ought not to pray with such, though 
wife, child, etc. ; " 

4. " That a man ought not to give thanks after the 
sacrament, nor after meat, etc. ; " 

" And that the other churches were about to write to 
the church of Salem to admonish him of these errors, 

*Mass. Records, I., 145, 146. t Winthrop, I., 158. % Ibid, 158. 



Il8 THE BAY COLONY. 

notwithstanding the church had since called him to the 
office of a teacher." 

" Much debate was about these things." 

"The said opinions were adjudged by all, magistrates 
and ministers (who were desired to be present), to be 
erroneous and very dangerous, and the calling of him to 
office at that time was judged a great contempt of authority. 
So, in fine, time was given to him and the church of 
Salem to consider of these things till the next General 
Court, and then either to give satisfaction to the Court, or 
else to expect the sentence ; it being professedly declared 
by the ministers (at the request of the Court to give their 
advice) that he who should obstinately maintain such 
opinions (whereby a church might run into heresy, apostacy 
or tyranny, and yet the civil magistrate could not inter- 
meddle) were to be removed, and that the other churches 
ought to request the magistrates so to do." * 

Winthrop states, " Salem men had preferred a petition 
at the last General Court, for some land in Marblehead 
Neck, which they did challenge as belonging to their town ; 
but because they had chosen Mr. Williams, their teacher, 
while he stood under question of authority, and so offered 
contempt to the magistrates, etc., their petition was refused 
till, etc. Upon this the church of Salem write to other 
churches to admonish the magistrates of this as a heinous 
sin, and likewise the deputies ; for which, at the next 
General Court, their deputies were not received until they 
should give satisfaction about the letter." f 

* Winthrop, I., 162, 163. t Ibid, 164. Mass. Records, I., 156. 



THE DEFIANCE OF THE KING. I I9 

This letter was written and sent through the influence 
of Williams, but, by wise and prudent efforts of the elders 
of the churches with individuals of the church of Salem, a 
majority of its members were, in a short time, persuaded 
of the mischievous tendency of the course pursued by their 
pastor, and refused to give further countenance to it. 
This increased the anger of Williams ; and upon Sunday, 
August 29, he sent a letter to be read to his church. As 
stated by Winthrop, " Mr. Williams, pastor of Salem, being 
sick and not able to speak, wrote to his church a protesta- 
tion, that he could not communicate with the churches in 
the Bay, neither would he communicate with them, except 
they would refuse communion with the rest ; but the whole 
church was grieved herewith." Williams never afterwards 
officiated in the church, but for several weeks held meet- 
ings of his adherents at his own house, at which he 
declared he would have no communion with any of the 
churches, not even with the church of Salem ; and even 
refused to pray with his wife, because she continued to 
attend the meetings of the church. 

At the next session of the General Court, in September, 
1635, the subject of the letter from the church of Salem 
was again considered, and " Mr. Endicott made a protesta- 
tion in justification of the letter formerly sent from Salem 
to the other churches against the magistrates and deputies, 
for which he was committed ; but the same day he came and 
acknowledged his fault, and was discharged." * But Mr. 
Williams persisted in maintaining the charges made in the 

* Winthrop, I., 166. 



I20 THE BAY COLONY. 

letter, whereupon the following order was passed: " Whereas 
Mr. Roger Williams, one of the elders of the church of 
Salem, hath broached and divulged divers new and danger- 
ous opinions against the authority of magistrates ; as also 
writ letters of defamation, both of the magistrates and 
churches here, and that before any conviction, and yet 
maintaineth the same without retraction ; it is therefore 
ordered, that the said Mr. Williams shall depart out of this 
jurisdiction within six weeks now next ensuing, which, if 
he neglect to perform, it shall be lawful for the governor 
and two of the magistrates to send him to some place out 
of this jurisdiction, not to return any more without license 
from the court." Afterwards permission was given him 
to remain through the winter. It was also ordered that 
Mr. Samuel Sharp, the ruling elder of the church of Salem, 
be " enjoined to appear at the next particular court to 
answer for the letter that came from the church of Salem, 
as also to bring the names of those that will justify the 
same, or else to acknowledge his offence, under his own 
hand, for his own particular." * 

The Court of Assistants met at Boston in January, 
1636, to consider in regard to Mr. Williams, as he had 
disregarded the injunction laid upon him, " not to go about 
to draw others to his opinions " during the time he was 
permitted to remain ; and that he had entertained people 
at his house and preached to them, "even of such points 
as he had been censured for, and it was agreed to send 
him into England by a ship then ready to depart." They 
* Mass. Records, I., 160, 161. 



THE DEFIAiVCE OF THE KIiXG. 121 

were informed that he had drawn about twenty persons 
to his opinions, and that they intended to " erect a plan- 
tation about the Narragansett Bay." Whereupon a war- 
rant was sent for him to come to Boston to be put on 
board the ship. He returned answer that he could not 
come without hazard of his life ; when a pinnace was sent 
to Salem, in which to take him to the ship then at Nan- 
tasket ; but, upon its arrival, Williams could not be found ; 
and it was ascertained he had left Salem three days 
before the arrival of the pinnace.* With several of his 
adherents he spent the remainder of the winter with the 
Indians at Sowans, now Warren, in Rhode Island, and in 
the spring removed to what is now Providence, it being 
claimed that Sowans was within the limits of the Ply- 
mouth patent. 

* Winthrop, I., 175, 176. 



CHAPTER V. 

SIR HARRY VANE, GOVERNOR. 

/'~\N the sixth day of October, 1635, Henry Vane, 
^^ afterwards Sir Henry Vane, arrived at Boston in 
the ship Abigail. His father. Sir Henry Vane, held a 
seat in Parhament, was a member of the Privy Council, 
and afterwards principal Secretary of State ; he was in 
high favour at court, and had great influence with Charles, 
whose treasurer he had been before the death of his 
father. Young Vane as a boy had manifested a very 
independent spirit. At the age of nineteen he left 
Oxford University and accompanied his father, who was 
appointed English ambassador to the Austrian Court ; 
and he spent a year on the continent, a part of the time, 
it is said, at Geneva. Upon his return to England he 
openly espoused the cause of the reformers, and finally 
determined to cast his lot with the colonists of New 
England. Although strenuously opposed by his father, 
his consent was obtained ; it is said through the advice 
and by the direction of the king, who gave young Vane a 
license to remain here three years.* 

He had formed an acquaintance with John Winthrop, 
the younger, then in England, and intended to go with him 

* Winthrop, I., 169, 170. 
122 



S//; HARRY VANE, GOVERNOR. 12^ 

to Connecticut, for which colony Winthrop was commis- 
sioned as governor by Lord Say and Sele, and others 
interested in the settlement of that colony. 

In the same ship came over Mr. Hugh Peters and Mr. 
Thomas Shepard.* Mr, Peters had taken a great inter- 

* Mr. Shepard was a nonconformist minister. As Mr. Hooker had 
removed with his church to Connecticut, Mr. Shepard, with the appro- 
bation of the magistrates, established a new church at Newtown, over which 
he was settled as pastor, February i, 1636. 

The proceedings on this occasion are given very fully by Winthrop ; 
and are of great interest as showing the progress that had been made in 
the perfecting of the discipline of the churches. I give the statement in 
full. " Mr. Shepherd a godly minister, come lately out of England, and 
divers other good Christians intending to raise a church body, came and 
acquainted the magistrates therewith, who gave their approbation. They 
also sent to all the neighbouring churches for their elders to give their 
assistance, at a certain day at Newtown, when they should constitute their 
body. Accordingly, at this day, there met a great assembly, where the 
proceeding was as followeth : 

" Mr. Shepherd and two others (who were after to be chosen to office) 
sat together in the elder's seat. Then the elder of them began with prayer. 
After this Mr. Shepherd prayed with deep confession of sin, etc. ; and 
exercised out of Eph. V. that he might make it to himself a holy, etc.; and 
also opened the cause of their meeting, etc. Then the elder desired to 
know of the churches assembled, what number were needful to make a 
church, and how they ought to proceed in this action. Whereupon some 
of the ancient ministers, conferring shortly together, gave answer : That 
the Scripture did not set down any certain rule for the number. Three 
(they thought) were too few, because by Matt. XVIII. an appeal was 
allowed from three ; but that seven might be a fit number. And for their 
proceeding, they advised, that such as were to join should make confession 
of their faith, and declare what work of grace the Lord had wrought in 
them; which accordingly they did, Mr. Shepherd first, then four others, 
then the elder, and one who was to be deacon (who had also prayed), and 



124 THE BAY COLONY. 

est in the formation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and 
had contributed to its funds. He had been engaged at 
Rotterdam as a nonconformist minister, but was com- 
pelled to leave, through the influence of the English 
ambassador. Both Vane and Peters, after a brief resi- 
dence here, returned to England, and took an active part 
in the rebellion, which resulted in the execution of the 
king ; and both, upon the restoration, met the same fate 
upon the scaffold. 

Upon his arrival at Boston, Vane, being then only 
twenty - three years of age, was received by the people 
with much honour as the son of a privy councillor, and he 
was so much flattered by the attentions paid him that he 
soon decided to remain- at Massachusetts Bay. He was 
admitted a member of the church of Boston, November i.* 

On November 30, before he had been two months in 

another member. Then the covenant was read, and they all gave a 
solemn assent to it. Then the elder desired of the churches, that, if they 
did approve them to be a church, they would give them the right hand of 
fellowship. Whereupon Mr. Cotton, (upon short speech with some 
others near him,) in the name of their churches, gave his hand to the 
elder, with a short speech of their assent, and desired the peace of the 
Lord Jesus to be with them. Then Mr. Shepherd made an exhortation to 
the rest of his body, about the nature of their covenant, and to stand firm 
to it, and commended them to the Lord in a most heavenly prayer. Then 
the elder told the assembly that they intended to choose Mr. Shepherd for 
their pastor, (by the name of the brother who had exercised,) and desired 
the churches, that, if they had anything to except against him, they would 
impart it to them before the day of ordination. Then he gave the 
churches thanks for their assistance, and so left them to the Lord." — 
Winthrop, L, iSo, i8i. 
* Winthrop, L, 170. 



S//? HARRY VANE, GOVERNOR. 1 25 

the colony, at a general meeting in Boston, it was "agreed 
that none of the members of this congregation, or inhabi- 
tants among us, shall sue one another at the law, before 
Mr. H. Vane and the two elders, Mr. Thomas Oliver and 
Thomas Leverett, have had the hearing and deciding of 
the cause if they can." * Within a little more than a 
month after. Vane with Hugh Peters caused a meeting to 
be called at Boston, of the governor, Haynes, the deputy 
governor, Bellingham, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hooker, Mr. Wil- 
son, Mr. Winthrop, and Mr. Dudley. Mr. Vane stated 
the purpose of the meeting, which was to heal the differ- 
ences among the people regarding the conduct of Mr. 
Winthrop and Mr. Dudley ; the former carrying matters 
with more lenity, and the latter with more severity. 
Winthrop and Dudley both expressed surprise at the 
charges made, and neither of them had any complaint to 
make against the other. Whereupon Mr. Haynes spoke 
of one or two passages wherein he conceived that he, 
Winthrop, " dealt too remissly in point of justice." Win- 
throp replied "that it was his judgment, that in the 
infancy of plantations, justice should be administered 
with more lenity than in a settled state, because people 
were then more apt to transgress, partly of ignorance of 
new laws and orders, partly through oppression of busi- 
ness and other straits, but if it might be made clear to 
him that it was an error, he would be ready to take up a 
stricter course." The question was submitted to the 
ministers present with request that they lay down a rule 

* Boston Records. 



126 THE BAY COLONY. 

in the case, and to report the next morning. They gave 
their opinions the next morning to the effect " that strict 
discipline both in criminal offences and in martial affairs, 
was more needful in plantations than in a settled state, as 
tending to the honour and safety of the Gospel." Win- 
throp assented to the report, and promised to endeavour 
to take a more strict course thereafter. " Whereupon 
there was a renewal of love amongst them," and certain 
general rules of administration and conduct were drawn 
up. One of the rules was, that " the magistrates shall 
appear more solemnly in public, with attendance, apparel, 
and open notice of their entrance into the court." * 

At the next annual meeting of the General Court, in 
May, 1636, Vane was chosen governor, apparently without 
opposition. At that time there were fifteen large ships 
in the harbour, " and, because he was son and heir to a 
privy counsellor in England, the ships congratulated his 
election with a volley of great shot." f The new gover- 
nor, in accordance with the rules that had been adopted, 
was attended, whenever he went to the General Court or 
to church, by four sergeants, with halberds, steel caps on 
their heads, bandoliers, and small arms. At the same 
General Court, W'inthrop and Dudley were chosen assist- 
ants for life, under an order passed by the General Court 
in the preceding March, that " a certain number of the 
magistrates " be chosen for life, as a standing council, and 
that the governor, for the time being, be president of the 
council.! This step was taken with a view to encourage 

♦Winthrop, I., 17S, 179. t Ibid, 187. | Ibid, 184. 



S//? HARRY VANE, GOVERNOR. 12/ 

certain of the gentry who were inclined to come over, by 
establishing a permanent council as an aristocratic branch 
of the government. At the next session of the General 
Court, Endicott was chosen a member of it. This council 
was without any warrant in the charter, and three years 
after it was practically abolished. 

A few months before the annual meeting, the military 
commissioners, the subject having been committed to 
them by the General Court, ordered the cross to be left 
out of all the colours of the train bands, but the king's 
arms to remain in the colours of the fort at Castle 
Island.* A few days before the meeting, the lieutenant 
of the fort went on board the ship St. Patrick, one 
Palmer, master, which belonged to Wentworth, after- 
wards the Earl of Strafford, as she approached Castle 
Island, and compelled her to strike her flag. The master 
was indignant, and complained to the magistrates, who, 
after a hearing, declared to the master that the lieutenant 
had acted without authority, " and because he had made 
them strike to the fort (which had then no colours aboard), 
they tendered the master such satisfaction as he desired, 
which was only this, that the lieutenant aboard their ship 
should acknowledge his error, that so all the ship's com- 
pany might receive satisfaction, lest the lord deputy 
should have been informed that we had offered that dis- 
courtesy to his ship, which we had never offered to any 
before."! 

But the trouble was not all over. Probably much ill 

* Winthrop, I., iSo. t Ibid, i86. 



128 THE BAY COLONY. 

feeling at what had happened existed among the officers 
and men of the fifteen large ships, which resulted in dis- 
orderly conduct of the sailors when on shore. It was 
necessary that some stringent regulations be adopted, and 
that the privileges of masters and seamen, in entering and 
whilst remaining in the harbour, be sharply defined. The 
next week after he was chosen governor, Vane invited the 
masters of all the ships to dine with him, and, after the 
dinner proposed to them : 

" I. That all ships which should come after this year, 
should come to an anchor before they came at the fort, 
except they did send their boat before, and did satisfy the 
commander that they were friends. 

" 2. That before they offered any goods to sale, they 
would deliver an invoice, etc., and give the governor, etc., 
twenty-four hours' liberty to refuse, etc. 

" 3. That their men might not stay on shore (except 
upon necessary business) after sunset." 

These propositions were willingly assented to by the 
masters.* Soon after, the mate of the ship Hector, then 
in the harbour, to some who had come on board, denounced 
the people because they had not the king's colours at the 
fort, as traitors and rebels. Upon this being reported, 
the governor sent for the master of the ship, who prom- 
ised to deliver up the mate, and the marshal and four 
sergeants were sent on board to take him. The master 
was not on board, and the men refused to deliver him up, 
but the master, who was on shore, went himself and 

* Winthrop, I., 186-7. 



S/A' HARRY VANE, GOVERNOR. 1 29 

brought the mate to the court, and, his offence having 
been proved, he was committed. " The next day the 
master, to pacify his men, who were in a great tumult," 
upon his promise to return the mate on the next day, was 
allowed to take him. He did return him at the time 
appointed, when the mate, in the presence of all the rest 
of the masters, acknowledged his offence, and signed a 
submission and was discharged. The governor then 
requested the masters that "they would deal freely," and 
if any offences, to state what they required. They 
answered that they should be examined upon their return 
to England as to what colours they saw here, and they 
desired that the king's colours might be displayed at the 
fort. It was answered that we had none. The masters 
offered to furnish them, to which the reply was made that 
"we were fully persuaded that the cross in the ensign was 
idolatrous, and therefore might not set it in our ensign ; 
but because the fort was the king's, and maintained in 
his name, we thought that his own colours might be spread 
there. So the governor accepted the colours of Captain 
Palmer and promised they should be set up at Castle 
Island." The subject had been considered over night 
with Mr. Cotton and others. Governor Vane, Dudley, 
and Cotton favoured displaying the King's colours upon the 
grounds before stated. Others deferred to the judgment 
of Vane and Dudley, and some others were not persuaded, 
but would not oppose it on the ground that it was 
doubtful. * 

* Winthrop, I., 187-9. 



I30 THE BAY COLONY. 

In July following some Indians from Block Island 
boarded the pinnace of John Oldham, who was at the 
island for trade, killed him, and carried off his goods.* 
After ineffectual attempts for the delivery up of the 
Indians who had committed the murder, and the return of 
the goods, a force of ninety men, under the command of 
Endicott, was sent to Block Island, with instructions to 
put to death the men, but to save the women and chil- 
dren ; and afterwards to go to the Pequot Indians, and to 
demand of them to deliver up the men who, three years 
before, killed Captain Stone and eight others in a vessel at 
the mouth of the Connecticut, also to demand damages, 
and some children as hostages. The expedition arrived at 
Block Island the last of August ; the Indians endeavoured 
to prevent the men fromi landing, but not succeeding, fled 
into the interior of the island, which was about ten miles 
in length and four miles in breadth. They landed, and 
attempted to follow the enemy, but the surface of the 
island was very uneven, and overgrown with scrub oaks 
so that they could only march through narrow paths in 
single file. They spent two days, without discovering any 
Indians, when they burned sixty wigwams and some corn 
that had been gathered. According to Underbill, who 
was a captain in the expedition, they " burnt the Indian 
houses, cut down their corn and destroyed some of their 
dogs instead of men." 

From Block Island, they sailed to Saybrook Fort, at 
the mouth of the Connecticut. Lieutenant Gardiner in 
command of the fort was indignant at what had been done 

* Winthrop, I., 190. 



SIR HARRY VANE, GOVERNOR. I3I 

at Block Island, and, anticipating the effect of the proceed- 
ings upon the savages, said to Endicott, "You come hither 
to raise these wasps about my ears, then you will take 
wing and flee away." But he was prevailed upon to send 
some of his men with Endicott against the Pequots, and 
after being wind-bound several days the vessels sailed to 
Pequot Harbour. There Endicott was informed that the 
sachem, Canonicus, had gone to Long Island. Endicott 
then sent for the other sachem. There was much dally- 
ing, and finally the Indians, who had gathered in large 
numbers, were told they had dared the English to come 
and fight with them, and that they had come for that pur- 
pose ; whereupon the Indians withdrew, and Endicott 
marched his men to their town, and burned all their 
wigwams. The corn was not gathered, so they could not 
destroy it. They then returned to their vessels ; and the 
next day landed on the west side of the river, and burned 
some wigwams, and destroyed some canoes which they 
found there ; after which they sailed to Narragansett, and 
on the 14th day of October, according to Winthrop, "they 
came all safe to Boston, which was a marvellous provi- 
dence of God, that not a hair fell from the head of any of 
them, nor any sick or feeble person among them."* The 
governor of Plymouth sent a letter to Winthrop soon after 
the return of Endicott, in which he expressed his disap- 
proval of what had been done, and complained that Mas- 
sachusetts had occasioned an Indian war by provoking the 
Pequots. t 

* Winthrop, I., 192-195. t Bradford, 353. Winthrop, I., 199. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ANNE HUTCHINSON. 

MEANWHILE, a new heresy had taken root in the 
church of Boston, and was spreading through the 
colony, which threatened not only the integrity of 
the churches, but the peace of the Commonwealth. Mrs. 
Anne Hutchinson, with her husband, William Hutchinson, 
"a gentleman of good estate and good reputation" of 
Alford, near Boston, in Lincolnshire, England, arrived at 
Boston in the ship Griffen, September, 1634. She was 
a woman of superior abilities, and an enthusiastic student 
of the theological problems of the time. In England she 
had attended Mr. Cotton's church, and one great motive 
of her coming over was that she might enjoy his preach- 
ing. She soon acquired great influence over those of her 
own sex here by her kindness and attention to them, espe- 
cially in times of sickness and trouble. It was the practice 
in Boston for the men to hold weekly meetings to discuss 
the sermons of the preceding Sunday, to which women 
were not invited. Some time after her arrival, she insti- 
tuted weekly meetings of women at her house for the same 
purpose. She conducted the meetings, to which large 
numbers from Boston, and some from the neighbouring 
towns, were attracted. It was the custom of the ministers 

132 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. 1 33 

to preach that justification, the indwelHng of the Spirit 
of God in the individual, was evidenced by his outward 
conduct and observances, including his walk, his dress, 
and even the fashion of his hair. Mrs. Hutchinson main- 
tained that such conduct and observances did not furnish 
satisfactory evidence of Christian piety, as they could be 
practised by hypocrites ; and that the best evidence of 
sincere piety was from the inner light and assurance, and 
that the individual alone could judge of the operation of 
the Spirit of God in his own heart. These views she pre- 
sented with much ability and zeal, and to the great accept- 
ance of her hearers. How long these meetings had been 
held before they attracted the attention of the authorities 
is not known. The first mention Winthrop makes of Mrs. 
Hutchinson is of date October 21, 1636. He writes, 
" One Mrs. Hutchinson, a member of the church of 
Boston, a woman of ready wit and bold spirit, brought 
over with her two dangerous errors : i. That the person 
of the Holy Ghost dwells in a justified person. 2. That 
no sanctification can help to evidence to us our justifica- 
tion. From these two grew many branches ; as, our union 
with the Holy Ghost, so as a Christian remains dead to 
every spiritual action, and hath no gifts nor graces other 
than such as are in hypocrites, nor any other sanctification 
but the Holy Ghost himself," and, " There joined with 
her in these opinions a brother of hers, one Mr. Wheel- 
wright, a silenced minister sometimes in England."* 
Four days after, October 25, there was a session of the 

* Winthrop, I., 200. 



134 THE BAY COLONY. 

General Court in Boston. Mr. Wheelwright had preached 
a sermon in which it was claimed that he sustained the 
views of Mrs. Hutchinson, and it was rumoured that Mr. 
Cotton also endorsed them. This caused great consterna- 
tion among the country ministers, who came in a body to 
Boston, and held a private conference with the General 
Court, " to the end they might know the certainty of 
these things, that if need were they might write to the 
church of Boston about them." 

" At this conference Mr. Cotton was present and gave 
satisfaction to them, so as he agreed with them all in the 
point of sanctification, and so did Mr. Wheelwright, so as 
they all did hold that sanctification did help to evidence 
justification. The same he had delivered plainly in public, 
divers times, but for the indwelling of the person of the 
Holy Ghost, he held that still, as some others of the 
ministers did, but not union with the person of the Holy 
Ghost (as Mrs. Hutchinson and others did), so as to 
amount to a personal union." * 

Some of the members of the church of Boston had pro- 
pounded that Mr. Wheelwright be called as a teacher of 
that church, and on October 30 it came up for a decision. 
One of the church, undoubtedly Mr. Winthrop, said he 
could not consent. " His reason was, because the church, 
being well furnished already with able ministers, whose 
spirits they knew," he did not wish the church to run the 
least hazard " by calling in one whose spirit they knew 
not, and one who seemed to dissent in judgment ; " and 

* Winthrop, I., 201. 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. I 35 

instanced two points in a late discourse by him, " i. That 
a beHever was more than a creature. 2. That the person 
of the Holy Ghost and a believer were united." After 
some discussion the church gave way that he (Mr. Wheel- 
wright) might be called to a new church to be gathered at 
Mount Wollaston, within the limits of what is now the 
city of Quincy. Members of the church were offended at 
what was said against Mr. Wheelwright, and the next day 
Mr. Winthrop again addressed the congregation, making 
answer to the alleged offences he had committed. Among 
other things, he said he was accused of charging Mr. 
Wheelwright with holding opinions which he did not hold. 
" For this he answered that he had spoken since with the 
said brother and for the two points, — that a believer 
should be more than a creature, and that there should be 
a personal union between the Holy Ghost and a believer. 
He had denied to hold either of them, but by necessary 
consequence he doth hold them both ; for he holds (said 
he) that there is a real union with the person of the Holy 
Ghost, and then of necessity it must be personal, and so a 
believer must be more than a creature, viz., God-man, even 
Christ Jesus." * The ministers held that the Holy Ghost 
was a person, consequently, any personal union of the 
believer with the Holy Ghost made him a superhuman 
being. 

The excitement upon the subject increased. The doc- 
trines of Mrs. Hutchinson were, in whole or in part, 
sustained not only by Mr. Wheelwright and Mr. Cotton, 

* Winthrop, I., 202-3. 



136 THE BAY COLONY. 

of the ministers, but by Governor Vane, and Dummer, and 
Coddington, of the assistants, and by " All the congrega- 
tion of Boston, except four or five." * 

In his journal, in November, Winthrop said, "The gov- 
ernor, Mr. Vane, a wise and godly gentleman, held, with 
Mr. Cotton and many others, the indwelling of the person 
of the Holy Ghost in a believer, and went so far beyond 
the rest as to maintain a personal union with the Holy 
Ghost, but the deputy, with the pastor and divers others, 
denied both," that for the peace of the Church the contro- 
versy was carried on in writing, that they all agreed that 
the Holy Ghost is God, and that he dwells in the believer, 
" but whether by his gifts and powers only, or by any 
other manner of presence," and "it was earnestly desired 
that the word person might be forborne, being a term of 
human invention, and tending to doubtful disputation in 
this case." f 

In December following, Governor Vane called a meeting 
of the assistants and deputies, and informed them that 
urgent private business required that he should visit Eng- 
land, but upon the earnest protestation of one of the 
assistants against his leaving " in a time of such danger as 
did hang over us from the Indians and French," the gov- 
ernor burst into tears, and replied that, serious as was the 
danger that threatened his estate, he would not have pro- 
posed to leave " if something else had not pressed him 
more, viz., the inevitable danger he saw of God's judg- 
ments to come upon us for these differences and dissen- 

* Winthrop, I., 212. t Ibid, 206. 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. I 37 

sions which he saw amongst us, and the scandalous impu- 
tations brought upon himself, as if he should be the cause 
of all ; and therefore he thought it best for him to give 
place for a time, etc.," but the court declined to consent 
to his departure on this ground, whereupon he declared 
that the reasons concerning his estate were sufficient, and 
that what he had said upon the other ground was " out of 
his passion, and not out of judgment." Upon this, the 
court, without discussion, consented to his departure, and 
voted to call a meeting of the General Court to elect a 
governor in his place. 

When the General Court convened, " divers of the con- 
gregation of Boston " sent a committee to the court, to 
declare that they did not deem it necessary for the gov- 
ernor to leave for the reasons he had given ; " whereupon 
the governor expressed himself to be an obedient child to 
the Church, and, therefore, notwithstanding the license of 
the court, yet without the leave of the Church, he durst 
not go away," and upon this declaration, it was agreed not 
to proceed to an election, but to adjourn to the annual 
election in May.* 

But this was not all of the business of the court. The 
excitement in regard to the new doctrines, as they were 
called, was such that the elders of the churches were 
called to advise with the court " about discovering and 
pacifying the differences among the churches in point of 
opinion." The governor having given the opportunity, 
Mr. Dudley desired that men would be "free and open," 

* Winthrop, I., 207-8. 



138 ' THE BAY COLONY. 

Another assistant expressed a desire that all would freely 
express their differences of opinion. The governor said 
" that he would be content to do the like, but that he 
understood the ministers were about it in a church way." 
The ministers had met before the court convened, and 
prepared a series of points to be propounded to Mr. Cot- 
ton, covering what they suspected to be his disagreement 
with them in matters of doctrine. This meeting was 
spoken of the day before in the court, at which the gov- 
ernor was much offended, as having been held without his 
knowledge. At this last meeting Mr. Peters addressed 
him, saying " how it had sadded the ministers' spirits that 
he should be jealous of their meetings or seem to restrain 
their liberty." The governor excused his speech as "sud- 
den and upon a mistake." Mr. Peters then told him that 
before he came the churches were in peace ; " the gov- 
ernor answered that the light of the Gospel brings a sword, 
and the children of the bondwoman would persecute 
those of the freewoman." Mr. Peters, in reply, besought 
him " humbly to consider his youth and short experience 
in the things of God, and to beware of peremptory conclu- 
sions, which he perceived him to be very apt unto," and, 
further, that pride and idleness were among the principal 
causes of new opinions and divisions. Mr. Wilson followed, 
and " made a very sad speech of the condition of our 
churches, and the inevitable danger of separation, if these 
differences and alienations among brethren were not 
speedily remedied ; and laid the blame upon those new 
opinions risen up among us, which all the magistrates, 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. I 39 

except the governor and two others, did confirm, and all 
the ministers but two." The speech of Mr. Wilson gave 
great offence to Mr. Cotton and other members of the 
church, who called upon him to admonish him. He 
replied, that he and all the other elders were exhorted to 
deliver their minds freely and faithfully, and that what he 
had said was of general application ; and in reply to ques- 
tions, he said that he did not mean the Boston church or 
its members more than those of other places. But this 
answer did not give satisfaction, and he was called to 
answer at a public meeting. At the meeting, " the gov- 
ernor pressed it violently against him, and all the congre- 
gation, except the deputy (Winthrop) and one or two more, 
and many of them with much bitterness and reproaches, 
but he answered them all with words of truth and sober- 
ness, and with marvellous wisdom." Mr. Cotton spoke, 
condemning the charges made by Mr. Wilson, "yet with 
much wisdom and moderation." 

There was a strong disposition shown to proceed to 
immediate censure of Mr. Wilson, but Mr. Cotton opposed 
it upon the ground that they were not unanimous, but he 
gave Mr. Wilson "a grave exhortation." Yet Mr. Wilson 
preached the next day, and gave great satisfaction, and 
even the governor expressed his approval of what he 
said. This was followed by an amicable correspondence 
between Winthrop and Mr. Cotton, and a reply to Mr. 
Cotton's arguments by the two ruling elders of the 
church.* 

* Winthrop, I., 207-11. 



I40 THE BAY COLONY. 

In a short time after, the tables were turned, and the 
rest of the ministers made an attack on Mr. Cotton for 
some doctrines he had preached, and for some opinions 
which some of his church -members had expressed, of 
whom he seemed to have too good an opinion, and with 
whom he had too much famiharity ; and they drew up 
sixteen points which they presented to him with the 
request for a direct reply, which he accordingly made, 
some of his answers being satisfactory and others not. 
To those which were not satisfactory the ministers re- 
plied, and, on January 20, they kept a fast in all the 
churches, for, among other things, " the dissensions in 
our churches."* 

" The differences in the said points of religion increased 
more and more, and the ministers of both sides (there 
being only Mr. Cotton of one party) did publicly declare 
their judgments in some of them, so as all men's mouths 
were full of them." A ship with many passengers was 
ready to sail for England early in February. A meeting 
was held with these passengers. Mr. Cotton addressed 
them, and desired that they should report that all the 
strife in the churches was about magnifying the grace of 
God, one party seeking to advance the grace of God 
within us, and the other to advance the grace of God 
towards us. He was followed by Mr. Wilson, who de- 
clared that all the elders and members of the churches 
laboured to advance the free grace of God in justification, 
so far as the word of God required it ; " and spoke also 

* Winthrop, I., 212, 213. 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. 141 

about the doctrine of sanctification, and the use and 
necessity, etc., of it, by occasion whereof no man could tell 
(except some few who knew the bottom of the matter) 
where any difference was." This offended Mr. Cotton's 
party. " Thus every occasion increased the contention, 
and caused great alienation of minds, and the members of 
Boston (frequenting the lectures of other ministers), did 
make much disturbance by public questions, and objec- 
tions to their doctrines, which did any way disagree from 
their opinions, and it began to be as common here to dis- 
tinguish between men, by being under a covenant of 
grace or a covenant of works, as in other countries be- 
tween Protestants and Papists." * 

The next session of the General Court was held in 
Boston, March 9, 1637, at which the subject of these new 
opinions and Mr. Wilson's sad speech were discussed, 
upon which the court was divided, but "the greater num- 
ber far were sound," according to Winthrop, and it ap- 
pears from the record that ♦' the court did approve of 
Mr. Wilson's speech in their judgments." At this session 
of the General Court, the ministers were called to advise 
the court of its authority in matters concerning the 
churches. They all agreed that no member of the court 
ought to be publicly questioned for any remarks he had 
made in the court, except by the consent of the court, 
and that "in all such heresies or errors of any church- 
members as are manifest and dangerous to the State, the 
court may proceed without tarrying for the church ; but 

* Winthrop, I., 213. 



142 THE BAY COLONY. 

if the opinions be doubtful they are first to refer them to 
the church, etc." * 

Having obtained this decision from the ministers, the 
court proceeded to a trial of Mr. Wheelwright for a ser- 
mon he had preached at the last fast, which seemed to 
tend to sedition, etc. Upon this, a petition was presented, 
signed by nearly all the members of the church of 
Boston, asking that as freemen they might be present in 
cases of judicature, and whether they might not in cases 
of conscience deal before the church. This was taken 
" as a groundless and presumptuous act," and was dis- 
missed with this answer, " that the court had never used 
to proceed judicially, but it was openly ; but for matter of 
consultation and preparation in causes, they might and 
would be private." The sermon of Mr. Wheelwright 
being produced, it was claimed that in it he inveighed 
against all who walked in a covenant of works. Mr. 
Winthrop says he justified it, and admitted he did mean 
all who walked in such a way, " whereupon the elders of 
the rest of the churches were called, and asked whether 
they, in their ministry, did walk in such a way. They all 
acknowledged they did." After much debate, "the court 
adjudged him (Mr. Wheelwright) guilty of sedition and 
also of contempt, for that the court had appointed the 
fast as a means of reconciliation of the differences, etc., 
and he purposely set himself to kindle and increase 
them." A protest against the proceedings, signed by the 
governor and others, was rejected, because it wholly justi- 

* Winthrop, I., 214. 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. 145 

fied Mr. Wheelwright. The church of Boston also ten- 
dered a petition in his behalf, justifying the sermon. The 
court deferred sentence to the next session, and advised 
with the ministers whether they might enjoin his silence. 
They answered that they were not clear on the point, but 
desired that he might be commended to the care of the 
church of Boston, which was done, and he was enjoined, 
to appear at the next court. 

At the same session, a vote was passed that Stephen 
Greensmyth ' for afifirming that all the ministers (except 
Mr. Cotton, Mr. Wheelwright, and he thought Mr. 
Hooker), did teach a covenant of works,' be for a time 
committed to the marshal, and he was afterwards sen- 
tenced to make acknowledgment to every congregation, 
pay a fine of forty pounds, and be bound in one hundred 
pounds until the sentence be complied with. 

There was so much contention between the parties that 
it was moved that the next court, being the court of the 
annual election, be held at Cambridge. The governor re- 
fused to put the vote, and the deputy, Winthrop, declined, 
as he lived in Boston, so the vote was put by Endicott 
and carried. The ministers also agreed to put off all 
lectures for three weeks, " that they might bring things to 
some issue." * 

May 17, 1637, the annual meeting of the General Court 
for elections was held at Cambridge. Upon its assembling 
at about one o'clock, a petition from Boston was presented. 
The governor desired that it should be read, but the deputy,. 

•Mass. Records, I., 187-91. Winthrop, I., 214-19. 



144 THE BAY COLONY. 

Winthrop, said it was out of order ; that it was a court for 
elections, which should first be attended to, and that then 
petitions could be heard. It was understood that the 
petition was for the purpose of procuring a revocation of 
the vote of the preceding court, against Mr. Wheelwright. 
After much time spent in discussion, there was a call from 
the people for election, and, upon motion of Mr. Winthrop, 
it was voted, by a large majority, to proceed to the election, 
but Vane and his party refused, when Winthrop said that 
if they would not proceed, he and the others on his side 
would ; whereupon an election was held, and Winthrop 
was chosen governor, and Dudley deputy governor, and, 
according to Winthrop, " Mr. Vane, Mr. Coddington, and 
Mr. Dummer (being all of that faction) were left quite out," 
and " there was a great danger of tumult that day ; for 
those of that side drew into fierce speeches, and some laid 
hands on others, but seeing themselves too weak, they 
grew quiet." Encouraged by this success, the majority 
took another step. Many persons were expected from 
England, who it was supposed were in sympathy with the 
opinions of the Boston church, and it was ordered by the 
court " that no town or person shall receive any stranger 
resorting hither with intent to reside in this jurisdiction " 
for more than three weeks, unless permitted under the 
band of one of the standing council, or two others of the 
magistrates ; and a penalty was fixed for any infraction of 
the order. The sentence of Mr. Wheelwright was deferred 
to the next session of the court. Mr. Winthrop states 
that the intent of the court in deferring the sentence was 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. ■ 1 45 

that, having now power enough to crush the faction, " their 
moderation and desire of reconciliation might appear 
to all." * 

These proceedings increased the discontent in Boston. 
That town had deferred the election of deputies, and on 
the day after the election chose Vane, Coddington, and 
Hoffe as deputies. The General Court refused to receive 
them, on the ground that two freemen had not been noti- 
fied of the election, but the next morning they were chosen 
again and admitted. 

The sergeants who had attended Governor Vane refused 
to act under the new governor, who employed two of his 
own servants for the duty, f Vane and Coddington 
showed resentment at being left out of the magistracy, 
and refused to sit in the magistrates' seats, though 
requested to by Governor Winthrop, and both kept the 
next general fast with Mr. Wheelwright, at Mount Wollas- 
ton. J On June 20, Lord Ley, son and heir of the Earl 
of Marlborough, then nineteen years of age, arrived in 
Boston in the ship Hector. Soon after his arrival, Gov- 
ernor Winthrop invited Lord Ley, Vane, and others to dine 
with him, but Vane refused to accept the invitation, and 
went over to Noddle's Island with Lord Ley to dine with 
Mr. Maverick at the same hour. § On the third day of 
August, Vane and Lord Ley embarked for England. 
They were attended to the ship by many of the friends of 
Vane, who gave in his honour volleys of shot and dis- 

* Mass. Records, I., 194-97. Winthrop, I., 222-24. 

t Winthrop, I., 220. | Ibid, 224. § Ibid, 232. 



146 THE BAY COLONY. 

charged five pieces of ordnance, and he received five more 
at the castle. * Vane never returned, and it must be said 
in his honour that, notwithstanding his mortification at 
what had been done, he afterwards, when in influential 
positions in England, always manifested a kind interest in 
the success of the colony. 

Soon after the election of Winthrop as governor, the 
treatment of Mr. Wheelwright and the subject of the 
differences in the churches was discussed in writing by 
the magistrates, the friends of Mr. Wheelwright, by Mr. 
Wheelwright himself, Mr. Cotton, and the other ministers. 
Of this discussion, Winthrop said, " Mr. Cotton also 
replied to their answer very largely and stated the differ- 
ences in a very narrow scantling ; and Mr. Shepherd, 
preaching at the day of election, brought them yet nearer, 
so as, except men of good understanding and such as knew 
the bottom of the tenets of those of the other party, few 
could see where the difference was.f After this, for 
several months, owing probably to the absorbing interest 
taken in the Pequot war, the subject of the differences 
was allowed to rest. The next record of it is in the early 
part of August, when Mr. Hooker and the rest of the 
elders held a meeting which continued several days, at 
which, with the consent of the magistrates, they appointed 
the 30th day of the month for a conference of all the 
churches in reference to the differences, in accordance 
with a vote of the last General Court. At this meeting a 
partial reconciliation was made between Mr. Cotton, Mr. 

* Winthrop, I., 235. t Ibid, 221. 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. 147 

Wheelwright, and Mr. Wilson upon the subject of Mr. 
Wilson's speech, but nothing was done in regard to the 
more important differences. * The conference, or synod, 
as it was called, accordingly met on August 30, at which 
all the teaching elders, and Mr. Davenport and others who 
had recently arrived from England, assembled. At the 
opening of the synod, first, eighty erroneous opinions, 
which had probably been previously prepared and written 
out, were read, then nine unwholesome expressions, and 
others abusing the Scriptures. These opinions were all 
condemned by the whole assembly. After this five points 
were raised between Mr. Cotton and Mr. Wheelwright on 
the one part, and the rest of the elders on the other, 
which were afterwards reduced to three, which, after 
modification, were accepted by Mr. Cotton and all the 
others, except Mr. Wheelwright. The last day of the 
synod four resolutions were adopted, the first, "that though 
w^omen might meet (some few together) to pray and edify 
one another ; yet such a set assembly (as was then in 
practice at Boston) where sixty or more did meet every 
week and one woman (in a prophetical way, by resolving 
questions of doctrine and expounding Scripture) took upon 
her the whole exercise, was agreed to be disorderly and 
without rule." The second resolution was, in substance, 
that, although a private member might ask a question pub- 
licly after a sermon, for information, yet this should be 
done very wisely and "sparingly," with the leave of the 
elders; but the questions "then in use," reproving the 

* Winthrop, I., 236. 



148 THE BAY COLONY. 

doctrines preached and reproaching the elders, which had 
been done "with bitterness," were utterly condemned. 
The third was, that the censure of the church might be 
given against a person in his absence, who refused to be 
present ; but that it was better he should be compelled by 
the magistrates to be present. The fourth was, that a 
member of a church differing from the others in an opinion 
which was not fundamental, ought not to forsake the 
church ; and that if such a one asked dismission to another 
church which held his opinions, and for that reason, it 
should be refused.* 

The synod, instead of " pacifying the troubles and 
dissensions about matters of religion," increased them ; 
and " though Mr. Wheelwright and those of his party 
had been clearly confuted and confounded in the Assem- 
bly, yet they persisted in their opinions and were as busy 
in nourishing contentions (the principal of them) as 
before." 

Mrs. Hutchinson continued her meetings, and, with her 
followers, persisted in criticising and denouncing the 
ministers who preached doctrines contrary to her opinions. 
Meetings in the churches on the Sabbath were disturbed 
by questions propounded to the ministers, at the close of 
their sermons, by the partisans of the "new opinions," 
and Mrs. Hutchinson went so far as to turn her back upon 
Mr. Wilson, and leave the church, when he preached. f 

*Winthrop, I., 237-41. 

t Winthrop, I., 244-45. Preface to short story by Weld. Hosmer's 
life of Vane, 50. 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. 1 49 

The spirit of faction had become so intense as seri- 
ously to threaten the disruption of the churches and the 
Commonwealth. All the attempts on the part of Win- 
throp and the large majority of the ministers and people 
to stay its progress had proved ineffectual, and it was 
determined that decisive and vigourous action be taken ; 
" whereupon the General Court being assembled on the 
2d of the ninth month (November), and finding upon con- 
sultation that two so opposite parties could not contain in 
the same body without apparent hazard of ruin to the 
whole, agreed to send away some of the principal."* 
The first action taken was against three deputies of the 
General Court, Aspinwall, Coggeshall, and Sergeant Oliver. 
The offence of Aspinwall was that he had signed the 
petition, or remonstrance, to the General Court in favor of 
Mr. Wheelwright, in March preceding, and being called 
upon, justified it ; whereupon it was voted that he should 
no longer hold his seat as deputy. The offences of 
Coggeshall and Oliver were, that they justified the said 
petition, and the same sentence was imposed upon them. 
Afterwards, at the same session, Aspinwall was disfran- 
chised and banished, and Coggeshall disfranchised. The 
court next proceeded against Mr. Wheelwright, and voted 
that he be disfranchised and banished, to leave the colony 
within fourteen days. Next, Mrs. Hutchinson was con- 
vented, and, after an examination which lasted two days, 
was banished, f 

The court then adjourned to November 15, at which 

*Winthrop, I., 245. t Mass. P.ecords, I., 205-18. 



f50 THE BAY COLONY. 

adjourned session Sergeant Balston and Sergeant Hutch- 
inson, for signing the said petition and justifying it, were 
disfranchised and fined ; and Captain Underhill, the 
Indian fighter, for the same offence, was disfranchised 
and removed from his office as captain. Four others were 
disfranchised on the same charge, and an order was passed 
that seventy-six men named, of whom fifty-eight were 
Boston men, should be disarmed. A further order was 
passed that the powder and ammunition of the colony in 
Boston should be removed, part to Cambridge and part to 
Roxbury, under the charge of Dudley and Herlakenden.* 
All these proceedings, with statements justifying them, 
were sent to England to be published there, to the end, 
according to Winthrop, " that all our godly friends might 
not be discouraged from coming to us." The action of 
the General Court gave great offence to the members of 
the church of Boston, who made an earnest effort with 
the elders to have Winthrop called to account for it, but 
he, to prevent "such a public disorder," addressed the 
congregation, and said that the church had no right to 
call in question the proceedings of the civil court ; that a 
magistrate is accountable to the church for his private 
acts, but not for what he does in the performance of 
judicial duties, even if his action is unjust ; that his oath 
of office required him to vote according to his judgment 
and conscience for the public good, and that "he was 
persuaded that it would be most for the glory of God and 
the public good to pass sentence as they did," and that he 

*Mass. Records, I., 209. 



ANNE HUTCHINSON. 151 

would give one reason for his judgment, and that was 
"for that he saw that those brethren were so divided 
from the rest of the country in their judgment and prac- 
tice, as it could not stand with the public peace that they 
should continue amongst us." * 

The severe measures that had been taken caused much 
excitement and indignation amongst the disciples of Mrs. 
Hutchinson ; but the faction had received its death-blow, 
and within a short time many who had been engaged in it 
saw the evil tendency of their acts, as was especially shown 
by the vote of censure of Mrs. Hutchinson, and her expul- 
sion from the church of Boston, a few months after her 
sentence. 

The experience of the authorities with Mrs. Hutchin- 
son and her adherents affords a striking illustration of the 
danger from schism, in that period. Toleration in relig- 
ious matters was not allowed, nor could it be with safety. 
Our experience at the present day proves to us how sus- 
ceptible the people are to the passions and prejudices 
engendered by the differences between the sects and de- 
nominations, notwithstanding the immense intellectual 
and moral advance that has been made. In the days of 
Winthrop, toleration would inevitably, and everywhere, 
have resulted in bitter and relentless strife. The colonists 
had been educated in England in the belief that there was 
safety only in the unity of the Church. 

They proceeded to establish here a church government 
in accordance with their own views, to be entirely inde- 

* Winthrop, 1., 248-50. 



152 THE BAY COLONY. 

pendent of the government of the Church of England, 
but they never intended or pretended that, when estab- 
lished, toleration would be allowed, or that any other 
church government would be permitted. 

They established here a church, which they declared to 
the world should be the only one, and, in insisting upon 
conformity and respect for its ordinances and priesthood, 
they followed the rules of the English Church. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE PEQUOT WAR. 

PENDING these dissensions, the colonists were called 
upon to engage in a war with the Indians. The 
ravages committed by the expedition against Block Island 
and the Pequots the preceding year greatly exasperated 
the red men. 

In the autumn and winter of 1636, the Connecticut 
colonists were kept in constant alarm. Indians skulked 
about the settlements, and waylaid and murdered, often 
with fiendish tortures, any who ventured at a distance 
from their houses, and in the spring of 1637, in a body, 
made an attack upon the settlement at Wethersfield, 
killed nine persons, and carried off captive two girls. 
They also invested the fort at Saybrook. In all, some 
thirty of the settlers were killed. 

At that time, settlements had been made at Hartford, 
Windsor, and Wethersfield, and the entire male popula- 
tion of Connecticut did not exceed three hundred. Of 
these, ninety men were mustered into the service under 
the command of Captain John Mason, who had been a 
gallant soldier in the war in the Netherlands,* and a call 

* Ancestor of Honourable Jeremiah Mason. 
153 



154 THE BAY COLONY. 

was made upon Massachusetts and Plymouth for aid. 
The alarm early reached Massachusetts. Information 
was received soon after the return of Endicott, in October, 
1636, that the Pequots were making strenuous efforts to 
induce the Narragansetts to join with them in a war of 
extermination against the English. But this was pre- 
vented, largely through the influence of Roger Williams. 
He gave notice to Massachusetts of the threatened 
danger, and, by his persuasion, the chiefs of the Narra- 
gansetts came to Boston, and made a treaty of alliance 
with the colony, and promised aid in the war with the 
Pequots, who were their hereditary enemies. 

But the fear of a general uprising of the Indians was 
so great, that at a session of the General Court in Decem- 
ber, 1636, the governor and council were instructed to take 
into consideration the subject of a war with the Pequots, 
and to report at the next session,* and, at an adjourn- 
ment of the court in March ensuing, it was ordered that 
the military officers should provide that watches be kept 
in the several towns, at such points as were most neces- 
sary for the common safety, and that each town should 
provide a sufficient watch-house ; also, that all male in- 
habitants in the country towns, above eighteen years of age, 
should attend all public assemblies with muskets or other 
arms fit for service, and be furnished with match, powder, 
and bullets, and that no person should go more than one 
mile from his house, except where there were other houses, 
without being armed. At a special session, held April 18, it 

*Mass. Records, I., 187. 



THE PEQUOT WAR. 1 55 

was ordered that the war with the Pequots " should be seri- 
ously prosecuted," and that the several towns should fur- 
nish their quotas of one hundred and sixty men, including 
a force of twenty men under Captain Underhill, which had 
been a few days before dispatched by Governor Vane, 
to re-enforce the fort at Saybrook, and, in case of defi- 
ciency in the number of men, the council was authorised 
to "impress such as are not freemen in their discretion."* 

But the critical condition of the people of Connecticut 
did not admit of any delay, and on the loth day of May, 
Mason, with his Connecticut men, and Uncas, sachem of 
the Mohegans, with eighty men of his tribe, embarked at 
Hartford in three small vessels, and arrived at Fort Say- 
brook May 1 7. The expedition was detained there several 
days on account of head winds.f 

The country of the Pequots extended on the south from 
the Connecticut to the Mystic, a distance of about thirty- 
five miles, and about sixty miles inland. The Pequots, 
expecting an attack, had sent the wives and children of 
their principal men to Long Island ; and had established 
two fortified villages, one on the Mystic, and the other a 
few miles further inland. 

The fortification on the Mystic was about six miles from 
Pequot Harbour. 

Mason's instructions were to land at the mouth of the 
Pequot, now Thames River, and from there to march inland 

* Mass. Records, 191-93. 

t For a full account of the Pequot War see Mason's History, Mass. 
Hist. Coll., 2d series, VIII., 133. 



156 THE BAY COLONY. 

and attack the fortifications. The Indians anticipated this 
plan of attack, and kept scouts posted in sight of the 
expected landing-place, who should give notice of the ene- 
my's approach. Upon consideration, Mason came to the 
conclusion that the plan of the campaign was an injudicious 
one, as the Indians would harass his men on the march, 
and, if defeated in an engagement, would scatter through 
the woods where they could not be successfully followed ; 
and he proposed to abandon the plan, and to attack the 
fortifications by a flank movement through the Narragan- 
sett country, hoping thereby to take the enemy by sur- 
prise. This was opposed by the other officers, whereupon 
Mason " earnestly desired Mr. Stone (the chaplain) that 
he would commend our condition to the Lord, to direct 
how and in what manner we should demean ourselves." 
Mr. Stone spent the night in prayer, and in the morning 
advised the men to trust to the guidance of their captain, 
which satisfied all. Mason left at Fort Saybrook twenty 
of his men, who were to return home for the protection of 
the settlements, and took in their place Underbill with 
nineteen "lusty men well armed," and, on May 23, landed 
his force at Narragansett. As the Indians saw the vessels 
sail by the mouth of the Pequot they supposed the Eng- 
lish had abandoned their undertaking, which caused great 
rejoicing. 

Upon landing, Mason had an interview with Mianto- 
nomo, sachem of the Narragansetts, and obtained from 
him permission to march through his country, but was 
told that his force was too small for the undertaking. 



THE PEQUOT WAR. I 57 

While here, he received information that Captain Patrick, 
with forty men from Massachusetts, was on a hurried 
march to join him. But his men were impatient, and 
Mason feared that, if he delayed, information might reach 
the enemy ; and the next morning he advanced with his 
force, consisting of seventy-seven Englishmen, as many 
Mohegans and two hundred Narragansetts. In two days, 
after a march of thirty-five miles, the little army encamped 
in a valley between two hills, about two miles from the 
fortification on the Mystic. It was the original intention 
of Mason to divide his force and make a simultaneous 
attack upon both forts, but learning the strength of the 
enemy, and the distance between the fortifications, he 
decided to concentrate his force on the Mystic, which was 
the principal fortification. Two hours before break of day 
of the next morning. May 26, after joining in prayer, they 
broke camp, and, guided by a Pequot deserter, marched 
cautiously toward the fort. 

Many of the Narragansetts had deserted, and those that 
remained were much frightened, and fell behind the 
English. They were assured by Mason that they should 
receive no harm ; that the English would enter the fort, 
and they might remain outside and seize such of the 
Pequots as should escape from it. The area of the forti- 
fication was one or two acres, and was surrounded by sap- 
lings about twelve feet high, set in the ground close 
together, and by an embankment of earth three feet high. 
Within were two streets, bordering on which were some 
seventy wigwams, close together, covered with mats and 



158 THE BAY COLONY. 

thatch. There were two entrances, one on the east and 
the other on the west side, which were protected by 
branches of trees about breast high. Mason divided his 
force, one-half under Underbill was to make an attack at 
the west entrance, and he with the rest of the force was 
to make an attack at the east entrance. The force under 
Mason had marched to within a few feet of the fort when 
the first alarm was given. He at once forced his way 
through the entrace, and was followed by his men. The 
Indians made a stout resistance with their hatchets, toma- 
hawks, and bows and arrows, killing two and wounding 
twenty of the assailants. Seeing the danger to which 
they were exposed, Mason seized a firebrand and set fire 
to a wigwam, which example was followed by Underbill on 
the other side of the fort, and, aided by a brisk wind, in a 
short time the whole village was in a blaze. 

The English retired from the fort, and shot at the 
Indians, who rushed out through the passageways, or 
attempted to escape by climbing over the palisades ; and 
those who escaped their bullets were seized by the 
Mohegans and Narragansetts who surrounded the fort. 
In a little more than one hour the work was finished. 

Sassacus, the night before, sent one hundred and fifty 
men from his fort to the Mystic fort, to co-operate with 
the men there in an offensive movement against the Eng- 
lish, and they perished with their fellows. 

More than six hundred Indians perished in the fire or 
by the sword. Seven only escaped and seven were taken 
prisoners. Within an hour after sunrise Mason was on. 



THE PEQUOT WAR. I 5 9. 

the march for Pequot Harbour, Soon after leaving the fort, 
a force of about two hundred Indians from the other vil- 
lage appeared. When they saw the smouldering ruins of 
the village and the dead bodies of their tribesmen, they 
set up a hideous howl and made a desperate attack upon 
the enemy. Mason employed his Indian allies to carry 
the wounded, and with the rest of his force kept the 
Indians in check, until he had reached the landing, at 
which his vessels, bringing Patrick and his men, had 
arrived from Narragansett. He then placed the wounded 
on board the vessels, and with the rest of his men marched 
overland to Saybrook. He was received at the fort with 
rejoicings, and " nobly entertained by Lieutenant Gardiner 
with many great guns." From there, Mason with his men 
sailed to Hartford, where they " were entertained with 
great triumph and rejoicing, and praising God for his 
goodness." 

Early in May, Winslow, representing the governor and 
council of Plymouth, came to Boston to treat with the 
authorities of Massachusetts about joining with them in 
the war. He stated that Plymouth could do nothing till 
a meeting of its General Court, which was to be held on 
the first Tuesday of June. He complained that Massa- 
chusetts had refused aid to Plymouth against the French, 
who had seized their trading house on the Penobscot ; 
that its people had interfered with the trade of the Plym- 
outh people on the Kennebec, and that its colonists in 
Connecticut had seized and held land there, of which the 
Plymouth people had prior possession ; and closed with 



l6o THE BAY COLONY. 

the plea of the poverty of Plymouth, and the ability of 
Massachusetts, which needed no help from its poorer 
neighbour. 

May 17, the day on which Mason arrived at Fort Say- 
brook on his expedition, the session of the General Court 
for annual elections was held at Cambridge. Winthrop 
was re-elected governor, and Dudley, deputy governor. It 
was ordered that fifty more men be raised for the war. It 
was also provided that the assistants and ministers should 
both be represented in the expedition. Of the assistants, 
three were named, John Winthrop, the younger, Simon 
Bradstreet, and Captain Israel Stoughton. Of these, 
Stoughton was selected by lot. Of the ministers, Mr. 
Wilson and Mr. Eliot were named, " and a lot was cast 
between them in a solemn public invocation of the name 
of God," which fell to Mr. Wilson. 

The first report received of the attack upon the fort at 
Mystic was that all the English were killed, but in a few 
days, probably about the first of June, information was 
received of the capture of the fort and the destruction of 
the Pequots ; upon which the governor and council deemed 
it unnecessary to send the whole force that had been 
ordered, and issued warrants for only one hundred men. 
But this caused dissatisfaction with many, and it was de- 
cided to send forty more. Intelligence of the victory was 
not received at Plymouth until the evening of June 5. 
On that day the General Court of Plymouth passed an 
order, information of which Winslow sent by a messenger 
to Winthrop, that Plymouth would forward at least forty 



THE PEQUOT WAR. l6l 

men for the war, to be dispatched in vessels, but that, for 
want of suitable vessels, they could not be immediately 
sent. 

Stoughton, with his forces, as soon as collected, started 
for Connecticut. Meanwhile, Sassacus, with the remnant 
of his tribe, destroyed their remaining fortified village, 
and, dividing into several parties, started westward. 
Stoughton followed them to the Connecticut, where, 
learning that a large number had returned to the Pequot 
country, he followed them, and, ascertaining where they 
were encamped, surprised them by an attack in the night, 
and put to death twenty-two men and captured between 
seventy and eighty women and children, of whom he gave 
the Narragansetts thirty, the Massachusetts Indians three, 
and sent the remainder to Massachusetts. 

The last of June, Stoughton, with Mason and about 
eighty men, sailed up the sound in pursuit of Sassacus 
and the other Pequots with him. Upon information of 
this, Sassacus, with Miantonomo and about twenty others, 
fled to the Mohawks, by whom, it is said, he was mur- 
dered. Information was given by a deserter that the 
main body was encamped by the side of a great swamp, 
near to what is now New Haven. Upon the approach of 
Stoughton and his men they fled into the swamp. A 
demand was made for a surrender. This was accepted by 
about one hundred old men, women, and children, but the 
warriors refused to yield, and, protected by the darkness 
of the night, about seventy escaped. 

In the autumn of 1638 the remaining Pequots, number- 



1 62 THE BAY COLONY. 

ing about two hundred warriors, with their families, sur- 
rendered to the EngHsh, and were portioned out between 
the Narragansetts and Mohegans. This ended the war ; 
and from its close to King Philip's war, a period of nearly 
forty years, there was no serious trouble with any of the 
remaining tribes. 



\ 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING ; MEETING 
OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT ; ITS EFFECTS UPON 
EMIGRATION AND UPON THE COLONISTS. JURIS- 
DICTION OVER THE NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWNS AND 
SPRINGFIELD. 

/'"^ ORGES and Mason were the most active members 
^^-^ of the Council for New England. They received 
from it patents for New Hampshire and Maine ; and 
expended large sums of money in attempts at colonisation. 
But after an experience of many years they became satis- 
fied that they would receive no adequate returns from 
their investments. 

They regarded with jealousy the success of the Massa- 
chusetts colony, which they claimed had surreptitiously 
obtained its patent and a confirmation by the king, in 
which was included valuable territory covered by prior 
grants to Mason and to the son of Gorges. 

Under these discouragements, the Council for New 
England, at a meeting held in April, 1635, divided up the 
entire territory given in their charter, ignoring all grants 
they had made, into twelve parts, to be held by the prin- 
cipal members of the company in severalty, the whole to 
be presided over by a general governor to be appointed by 

163 



164 THE BAY COLONY. 

the king. (A similar division was attempted soon after 
the grant of their charter, but was never completed.) 
At the same meeting it was agreed to surrender their 
charter, on condition that the divisioii be confirmed by the 
king ; and a request was made that the charter of the 
Massachusetts Company be revoked ; and that any per- 
sons occupying land, or entitled to it, under any grant, 
might have their titles confirmed upon payment of " rea- 
sonable " amounts to the lord of the province in which 
they claimed, and upon their surrendering all rights of 
government. In June following, the Council for New 
England executed a formal surrender of its charter, and 
of "all and every of the liberties, licenses, powers, priv- 
ileges and authorities therein granted." * 

Information of these proceedings caused alarm in the 
colony, and the fear of the appointment of a general 
governor was renewed ; but soon after, a letter was re- 
ceived from Lord Say and Sele, giving information that 
" Captain Mason and others, the adversaries of this colony, 
had built a great ship to send over the general gov- 
ernor, which, being launched, fell in sunder in the midst 
. . . but the project took not effect. The Lord frus- 
trated their design."! 

In September following, at Trinity term of the court, 
upon the application of Sir John Banks, attorney-general 
of England, leave was granted to file an information 
against the Massachusetts Company, upon which a quo 
warranto was issued. This was served on Cradock and 

* Hubbard, 226 — 233. t Winthrop, I., 161. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 1 65 

Others of the company in England, by the sheriff of 
London. 

The only substantial charges made in the quo warranto 
were, that the company maintained two councils, or gov- 
ernments, one in Massachusetts and the other in England ; 
and that it had exercised legislative and judicial powers 
contrary to the laws and customs of England ; but no 
charge was made that the government in the colony was 
not duly authorised. 

The members summoned, appeared, and all but Cradock 
pleaded that they never usurped any of said liberties, and 
disclaimed ; and judgment was rendered against them 
that they should not for the future intermeddle with any 
of said franchises, and should be forever excluded from 
the use of the same. Cradock appeared, and then made 
default, upon which, judgment was rendered that he 
should be convicted of the usurpation charged, and that 
the liberties, privileges, and franchises should be taken 
and seized into the king's hands. The records of the 
court show that " the rest of the patentees stood out- 
lawed and no judgment entered up against them."* 

No further attempt was made to obtain judgment 
against the company. In 1678, Jones and Winnington, 
two of the most eminent lawyers in England, gave it as 
their opinion, that the quo zvarranto " was neither so 
brought, nor the judgment thereon so given, as to cause a 
dissolution of the patent."! Their reasons are not given. 
It is not improbable that their ground, or principal ground, 

* Hutchinson papers, loi. t Chalmers, I., 55. 



1 66 THE BAY COLONY. 

was that no process had been served on the company in 
Massachusetts. On a similiar proceeding against the 
company in 1683, which was abandoned, the sheriff did 
not return the summons ; and among the reasons for it, 
he made it " a question whether he could take notice of 
New England, being out of his bailiwick." If, in either 
of these cases, the court had been of opinion that the 
government of the colony was by the charter, to be and 
remain in the realm, would it not have recognised the 
council in England as the true representative of the 
company, and have ordered service of process on it } 

The death of Mason the next winter, which Winthrop 
regarded as an "act of the Lord in His mercy," dis- 
couraged Gorges for the time, but Laud and the king 
made increased efforts to stop the tide of emigration. 
Shortly after the issuing of the quo ivarranto, an order 
was made " to stop ministers unconformable to the dis- 
cipline and ceremonies of the Church," from being trans- 
ported to His Majesty's plantations abroad. This was 
followed, in April, 1637, by another order to the officers 
of the ports, " against the disorderly transporting His 
Majesty's subjects to the plantations within the parts of 
America," and in May an order was passed by the 
council, for the attorney -general to again call for the 
Massachusetts patent. Little having been accomplished 
by these orders, in July, 1637, the king appointed Sir 
Ferdinando Gorges, governor -general of the whole coun- 
try. But the colonists were spared the infliction. The 
reason of it is tersely given by Chalmers, who was no 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 1 6/ 

friend to the colony. He states, " As every charter was 
now supposed to have been either cancelled or resigned, 
Charles the First assumed the government of New Eng- 
land in July, 1637, in order to redress the mischiefs that 
had arisen out of the different humours, and he appointed 
over it. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, as governor - general, 
'whose gravity, moderation, and experience gave hopes of 
repairing what is amiss in that disjointed settlement,' but 
that loyal gentleman was invested with powers which 
could not be executed among such a people, during such 
a season, without an army, and his sovereign had no army 
to send." * 

In March, 1638, an order was passed for the stay of 
eight ships then in the Thames, ready to sail for New 
England. " But upon the petition of the masters, and 
suggestion of the great damage it would be to the Com- 
monwealth in hindering the New Foundland trade which 
brought in much money, etc., they were presently re- 
leased." f The next month, a peremptory order was 
passed, requiring the return of the charter, which was 
followed by an order prohibiting the transportation of 
passengers to New England without a license, and another 
against the transportation of unconformable ministers. 
Yet, notwithstanding these orders, " there came over this 
summer, twenty ships, and at least three thousand 
persons." % 

* Chalmers, I., 57. t Winthrop, I., 266. \ Ibid, 26S. 

In March, 1638, a select military company was organised, with the con- 
sent of the General Court, and is now known as the Ancient and Honour- 
able Artillery Company. 



1 68 THE BAY COLONY. 

At the session of the General Court in September fol- 
lowing, " it was agreed that, whereas a very strict order 
was sent from the Lords Commissioners for Plantations, 
for the sending home our patent, upon pretence that 
judgment had passed against it upon a q2io warranto, a 
letter should be written by the governor, in the name of 
the court, to excuse our not sending of it, for it was re- 
solved to be best not to send it, because then, such of our 
friends and others in England, would conceive it to be 
surrendered, and that thereupon we should be bound to 
receive such a governor and such orders as should be 
sent to us, and many bad minds, yea, and some weak ones 
among ourselves, would think it lawful, if not necessary, 
to accept a general governor." * 

A letter to the Lords Commissioners for Plantations 
was accordingly prepared by Winthrop and sent. In it, 
an appeal was made for justice, followed by a statement, 
in unmistakable language, of what the colonists would 
regard as the only course open to them, if their rights 
and liberties should be improperly interfered with. It 
was a precursor of the Declaration of Independence, a 
century and a half later. In the address, grief is ex- 
pressed that the patent should be called for, "there being 
no cause known to us, for that purpose," and the request 
was made, "to afford unto us the liberties of subjects, 
that we may know what is laid to our charge, and have 
leave and time to answer for ourselves before we be con- 
demned as a people unworthy of His Majesty's favour or 

* Winthrop, I., 269. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 1 69 

protection ; as for the quo xvarranto mentioned in the said 
order, we do assure Your Lordships that we were never 
called to make answer to it, and if we had been we doubt 
not but we have a sufficient plea to put in. It is not 
unknown to Your Lordships, that we came into these 
remote parts with His Majesty's license and encourage- 
ment, under his great seal of England, and in the con- 
fidence we had of the great assurance of his favour, we 
have transported our families and estates, and here have 
we built and planted to the great enlargement and secur- 
ing of His Majesty's dominions in these parts, so, as if 
our patent should be now taken from us, we should be 
looked at as renegades and outlaws, and shall be enforced 
either to remove to some other place, or to return to our 
native country again, either of which will put us to insu- 
perable extremities, and these evils (among others), will 
necessarily follow : 

" I. Many thousand souls will be exposed to ruin, be- 
ing laid open to the injuries of all men. 

" 2. If we be forced to desert the place, the rest of the 
plantations about us (being too weak to subsist alone) 
will, for the most part, dissolve and go along with us, and 
then will this whole country fall into the hands of 
French or Dutch, who would speedily embrace such an 
opportunity. 

" 3. If we should lose all our labour and costs, and be 
deprived of those liberties which His Majesty hath granted 
us, and nothing laid to our charge, nor any failing to be 
found in us in point of allegiance (which all our country- 



I/O THE BAY COLOXY. 

men do take notice of and will justify our faithfulness in 
this behalf), it will discourage all men hereafter from the 
like undertakings upon confidence of His Majesty's royal 
grant. 

" 4. Lastly : If our patent be taken from us (whereby 
we suppose we may claim interest in His Majesty's favour 
and protection), the common people here will conceive 
that His Majesty hath cast them off, and that, hereby, 
they are freed from their allegiance and subjection, and 
thereupon, will be ready to confederate themselves under 
a new government for their necessary safety and sub- 
sistence ; upon these considerations, we are bold to renew 
our humble supplications to Your Lordships, that we may 
be suffered to live here in this wilderness, and that this 
poor plantation, which hath found more favour with God 
than many other, may not find less favour from Your Lord- 
ships ; that our liberties should be restrained when others 
are enlarged ; that the door should be kept shut unto us 
while it stands open to all other plantations ; that men of 
ability should be debarred from us while they have en- 
couragement to other colonies."* 

A few months after, "the governor received letters 
from Mr. Cradock, and in them another order from the 
Lords Commissioners to this effect : that whereas they 
had received our petition upon their former order, etc., by 
which they perceived that we were taken with some jeal- 
ousies and fears of their intentions, etc., they did accept 
of our answer, and did now declare their intentions to be 

* Hubbard, 269-271. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 171 

only to regulate all plantations to be subordinate to the 
said commission, and that they meant to continue our 
liberties, etc., and, therefore, did now again peremptorily 
require the governor to send them our patent by the first 
ship ; and that in the meantime, they did give us, by that 
order, full power to go on in the government of the people 
until we had a new patent sent us, and withal, they added 
their threats of further course to be taken with us, if we 
failed." 

" This order being imparted to the next General Court, 
some advised to return answer to it, others thought fitter 
to make no answer at all, because, being sent in a private 
letter and not delivered by a certain messenger, as the 
former order was, they could not proceed upon it, because 
they could not have any proof that it was delivered to the 
governor ; and order was taken that Mr. Cradock's agent, 
who delivered the letter to the governor, etc., should in 
his letters to his master make no mention of the letters 
he delivered to the governor, seeing his master had not 
made any charge upon him to that end."* 

But affairs in England were approaching a crisis. 
Charles had made an unsuccessful attempt to force the 
government of the Anglican Church upon Scotland ; and 
before the delivery of the last order the Scots were in 
arms, and threatened an invasion of England ; and from 
this time the attention of the king and Privy Council was 
fully occupied in defensive measures. This order proved 
to be the last communication between the government of 

* Winthrop, I., 298, 299. 



1/2 THE BAY COLONY. 

Massachusetts and the king and council ; and for more 
than twenty years thereafter, all the correspondence of 
England with the colony was through its Parliament or 
Cromwell. 

The necessities of Charles were so pressing that he was 
compelled to call a Parliament, after an interval of nearly 
twelve years. This caused great rejoicing among the 
people, who hoped through it to obtain a redress of griev 
ances. It met in April, but the Commons proving refrac- 
tory, it was dissolved in May. The king resorted to dif- 
ferent expedients to raise money ; but in August, the 
army of the Scotch Covenanters, consisting of 23,000 
infantry and 3,000 cavalry, crossed the Tweed. When 
upon English ground the Covenanters published a declara- 
tion that they " had undertaken this expedition at the call 
of the same divine Providence which had hitherto guided 
their steps ; that they marched not against the people of 
England, but against the Canterburian faction of papists, 
atheists, Arminians and prelates ; and that God and their 
conscience bore them testimony that their object was the 
peace of both kingdoms, by punishing the troublers of 
Israel, the firebrands of hell, the Korahs, the Balaams, 
the Doegs, the Rabshakahs, the Hamans, the Tobiahs, 
and Sanballats of the time, after which they would 
return with satisfaction and pride to their native country."* 

Upon this, Charles called a meeting of the peers, but 
upon their advice, and in response to numerous petitions 
from the people, he called a new Parliament to meet on 
* Rushworth, II., 1226. Lingard Hist. Eng., IX., 380. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 1/3 

November 3. Upon the assembling of the Commons, 
Charles found he could control only a small minority of 
its members ; and instead of voting supplies to the king, 
the House devoted itself to the redressing of grievances, 
and the arrest and trial of the most obnoxious of the 
advisers of the king. 

The determination shown by Parliament to redress 
grievances, both civil and religious, gave great encourage- 
ment to the reformers in England ; and, as a result, emi- 
gration suddenly stopped ; and for twenty years after 1640 
more persons returned to than arrived from England. 
The effect of this upon the colony was very great. The 
colonists had depended largely upon sales of their cattle 
and corn to the newcomers, which furnished them with 
money for the purchase, in England, of such articles as 
they needed. This important source of revenue was 
stopped upon the cessation of immigration. The prices 
of cattle and agricultural products very largely declined, 
and the colonists were deprived, to a great extent, of the 
means for purchasing manufactured and other necessary 
articles in England, and for the payment of their debts. 
The distress occasioned was so great that, in October, 
1640, the General Court passed the following order : " For- 
asmuch as it appeareth unto this court that there is a 
great stop in trade and commerce for want of money, for 
preventing of like mischief for time to come it is ordered 
that after the last day of this month no man shall be com^ 
pelled to satisfy any debt, legacy, fine, or any other pay- 
ment in money, but satisfaction shall be accepted in corn. 



1/4 THE BAY COLONY. 

cattle, fish, or other commodities, at such rates as this 
court shall set down from time to time ; or, in default 
thereof, by appraisement of indifferent men, to be 
appointed by the officer ; " and the rate of the different 
commodities was fixed for the time. Subsequently, at 
the same session, the order was slightly changed, and 
made to apply to existing indebtedness, and to include the 
taking of land and houses, if the personal property should 
not be sufficient to discharge the debt.* 

It appearing to the court, " that wheat is like to be a 
staple commodity ; " and as a ship was to be dispatched 
with wheat, "for the fetching in of such foreign commodi- 
ties as we stand in need of," it was ordered, under a 
penalty, that, after the last day of the month, no baker, or 
other person, should bake, for sale, any bread made in 
whole or in part of wheat meal.f 

At the same session it was ordered that white wampum 
should pass at four a penny and blue at two a penny, but 
should be legal tender for not more than twelve pence,J 
which was the next year increased to p^io.§ This was 
continued two years. In 1643 it was reduced to forty 
shillings. This was a currency consisting of white and 
blue beads, manufactured by the Indians from sea-shells, 
gathered principally on the shores of Long Island Sound. 
They were cylindrical and about one-quarter of an inch in 
length, and highly polished, with a hole drilled through 
them, so that they could be strung. They were first used 

* Mass. Records, I., 304, 307. { Ibid, 302. 

t Ibid, 337. § Ibid, 329. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 1 75 

as ornaments, and sold to the tribes in the interior ; and 
the Pequots and Narragansetts, whose lands bounded on 
the sound, were said to have grown " rich and potent " 
from the manufacture and sale of them. The English 
early used them in trading with the eastern tribes, and 
afterwards as a circulating medium among themselves. 
Beaver skins, as they had a market value in England, were 
as valuable in commerce as coin. In June, 1641, the 
General Court gave to certain persons named, and their 
associates, the exclusive control of the trade with the 
Indians ; and authorised them, for the purpose, to use all 
kinds of commodities except guns, ammunition, and other 
weapons, they to give to the Government one-twentieth of 
all furs they should purchase.* 

The attention of the people was also called, by the 
necessities of the time, to the importance of encouraging^ 
manufactures and commerce. 

The General Court, in May, 1640, declared "the abso- 
lute necessity" that existed for the manufacture of linen 
cloth ; and ordered the magistrates and deputies of the 
several towns to make this necessity known to their people, 
and to ascertain what seeds were in their respective towns, 
and what men and women were skilful in the breaking, 
spinning, and weaving of hemp and flax ; and what means 
there were for providing spinning wheels ; and to consult 
with them with reference to the raising the raw material 
and the manufacture of it ; also what steps should be 
taken to teach the children of both sexes to spin yarn and 

* Mass. Records, I., 322. 



1/6 THE BAY COLONY. 

weave cotton wool, and to report at the next session.* At 
the October session a bounty of id. on every shilling's 
worth of linen, woollen, and cotton cloth made in the 
colony was voted,f but at a session held in June, 1641, 
upon a statement that the payment of this bounty was 
" over burdensome to their present wants," the order was 
repealed.:|: At the same session, apprehension was ex- 
pressed of a deficiency in clothing the next winter ; and, 
as a supply of cotton could not be immediately obtained, 
it was ordered that the deputies give speedy notice to the 
people of their respective towns, to gather and use, in the 
place of cotton, the wild hemp, which grew everywhere 
abundantly ; and that all masters of families " should see 
that their children and servants should be industriously 
employed, so as the mornings and evenings and other sea- 
sons may not be lost, as formerly they have been (and if 
it be so continued will certainly bring us to poverty) ; but 
that the honest and profitable custom of England may be 
practiced amongst us, so as all hands may be employed 
for the working out of hemp and flax, and other needful 
things for clothing, without abridging any such servants 
of their due times for food and rest or other needful re- 
freshings. "§ In May, 1642, it was ordered that the 
"chosen men " of the several towns should see to it that 
such children " as are set to keep cattle, be set to some 
other employment withal, as spinning upon the rock,|| 
knitting, weaving tape, etc." ^ 

* Mass. Records, I., 294. t Ibid, 303. } Ibid, 320. § Ibid, 322. 

II Rock — a distaff held in the hand for spinning. 1 Mass. Records, II., 9. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 1/7 

The importance of carrying on commerce in our own 
vessels was also felt, and, according to Winthrop, " The 
general fear of want of foreign commodities, now our 
money was gone, and that things were like to go well in 
England, set us on work to provide shipping of our own, 
for which end Mr. Peters, being a man of a very public 
spirit and singular activity for all occasions, procured 
some to join for building a ship at Salem, of 300 tons, 
and the inhabitants of Boston, stirred up by his example, 
set upon the building of another at Boston, of 150 tons. 
The work was hard to accomplish for want of money, etc., 
but our shipwrights were content to take such pay as the 
country could make." * 

This year, 1640, Dudley was elected governor, "with 
some difficulty, for many of the elders laboured much in 
it, fearing lest the long continuance of one man in the 
place should bring it to be for life, and, in time, heredi- 
tary." The elders met in Boston on the subject, and sent 
some of their number to Winthrop to inform him of their 
action, and to assure him it was not done out of dislike of 
his government, and seriously professing their sincere 
affection and respect towards him, " which he kindly 
and thankfully accepted, concurring with them in their 
motion." f 

At the session of the General Court in October, the 
elders presented a written request that the respective 
powers of the churches and magistrates might be defined 
— ** That the churches might know their power and the 

* Winthrop, II., 24. t Ibid, 3. 



I 78 THE BAY COLONY. 

civil magistrate his," and "declared that the civil magis- 
trate should not proceed against a church-member before 
the church had dealt with him, with some other restraints 
which the court did not allow of," and the subject was 
referred for further consideration, " and it appeared, in- 
deed, that divers of the elders did not agree in those 
points." * 

At the same session, the report of the commissioners of 
Massachusetts and Plymouth, on the boundary between 
the colonies, " that the bounds should be that branch of 
Conyhasset creek nearest to Scituate, with 60 acres of 
marsh in the South Side," was ordered to be recorded. f 

The king having conceded large powers to Parliament, 
some friends of the colony in England wrote advising that 
we should send over agents to solicit additional legislation 
on our behalf. " But consulting about it we declined the 
motion for this consideration, that if we should put our- 
selves under the protection of the Parliament, we must 
then be subject to all such laws as they should make, or 
at least, such as they might impose upon us, in which 
course, though they should intend our good, yet it might 
prove very prejudicial to us." But, as a ship of the 
colony was ready to sail for England early in February, 
the Court of Assistants voted to send in it agents to act 
" in furthering the work of reformation of the churches 
there which was now like to be attempted," to explain 
why payments of our debts there were not made ; also to 
take measures to procure cotton from the West Indies, 

* Winthrop, II., i6. t Ibid, i8. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. I 79 

or to adopt some other means for a present supply of 
clothing. Mr. Peters, pastor of the church at Salem, Mr. 
Weld, of the church at Roxbury, and Mr. Hibbens, of 
Boston, were appointed the agents, but, owing to some 
dissatisfaction, and the speedy sailing of the ship, their 
departure was deferred.* At the annual meeting of the 
General Court in May, the same agents were appointed, 
and instructed, among other things, " to give any advice 
as should be required for the settling the right form of 
church discipline there." f They embarked on the 3d 
day of August. The next year after their arrival in Eng- 
land, in the summer of 1642, they procured ^500 with 
which they purchased and sent over linen, woollen, and 
other useful commodities which were disposed of at a 
profit, and the money was returned for further supplies. J 
Mr. Hibbens returned in September, and the same month 
letters were received from members of both houses of 
Parliament, and from some ministers " who stood for the 
independency of churches," to Mr. Cotton, of Boston, Mr. 
Hooker, of Hartford, and Mr. Davenport, of New Haven, 
inviting them to take part in a synod which had been 
appointed in England, "to consider and advise about the 
settling of church government." § Mr. Hooker liked not 
the business, Mr. Davenport approved the call, but his 
church objected to his leaving them, and Mr. Cotton 
" apprehended strongly a call of God in it." But soon 
after, letters were received from Mr. Weld and Mr. 

* Winthrop, II., 25, 26. \ Ibid, 75. 

t Ibid, 31. § Tlie Westminster Assembly. 



l8o THE BAY COLONY. 

Peters advising delay until they should receive intelligence, 
, " so this care came to an end." * 

Owing to the distractions in England arising out of 
the struggle between Parliament and the king, the course 
of Massachusetts for several years was but little attended 
to or interfered with. Mr. Bellingham was chosen gov- 
ernor in 1 64 1, and Mr. Winthrop in 1642 and 1643. In 
1 64 1 and 1642, important accessions were made to Massa- 
chusetts by the submission to its authority of the inhab- 
itants of Strawberry Bank, now Portsmouth, Cocheco, 
now Dover, and Exeter, in New Hampshire. In 1623, 
Gorges and Mason and several merchants of London, 
Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, and Dorchester, 
organised "the Company of Laconia," for the purpose of 
establishing colonies on the Piscataqua ; and in 1623 
sent over two companies of men, one to Dover and the 
other to Portsmouth. These settlements progressed very 
slowly, the company making large expenditures for their 
maintenance. In 1630, the Council for New England 
granted to Edward Hilton, representing a part of the 
company, a patent of territory which included Dover ; 
and in 163 1 granted to the members of the company in 
London a patent which included Portsmouth. It was 
set forth in the patent given to Hilton that he and his 
associates had, at their own cost, sent servants to and 
built houses and planted at Dover, and intended further 
improvements. Gorges and Mason and others were 
named as patentees in the Portsmouth patent. But after 

* Winthrop, II., 76, 77. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. l8l 

large additional expenditures, the proprietors of both 
places practically abandoned their undertaking. The 
inhabitants of each place, there being no powers of gov- 
ernment given in the patent, combined, and made vol-' 
untary organisations for their protection. The danger 
from this state of affairs was such that the better portion 
of both communities decided to treat with Massachusetts, 
with a view of being taken under its protection, especially 
as Massachusetts claimed both places to be within its 
jurisdiction. The northern boundary as given in its 
charter being " three English miles to the northward of 
the said river called Monomack or Merrimac, or to the 
northward of any and every part thereof," thence east 
and west in a parallel of latitude, Massachusetts 
claimed that, under this description, the line should be 
drawn from a point three miles north of the most north- 
erly part of the Merrimac, which would include all the 
then inhabited portion of New Hampshire and Maine.* 

* August I, 1652, John Sherman, sergeant at Watertown, and Jonathan 
Ince, student at Harvard College, having been appointed for the purpose by 
Captain Simon Willard and Captain Edward Johnson, commissioners ap- 
proved by the General Court, took the latitude of the northernmost part 
of the Merrimac River; and October 19, 1652, reported that, by observation, 
they found that ' Aquedahian, the name of the head of Merrimac where it 
issues out of the Lake Winnapusseakit, was forty -three degrees, forty 
minutes and twelve seconds, besides those minutes which are to be 
allowed for the three miles north which run into the Lake.' — Mass. 
Records, IIL, 288. 

October 13, 1652, Jonas Clark and Samuel Andrews, "both well skilled 
in the matheniatics," appointed by the General Court for the purpose, took 
" an observation at the northerly bounds of our patent upon the sea coast," 



1 82 THE BAY COLONY. 

Massachusetts readily entered into negotiations with the 
inhabitants of these settlements on the subject, which 
were concluded in 1641, and an instrument was subscribed, 
in the presence of the General Court, by the agents of 
the owners of the Piscataqua patents, in which they 
resigned the jurisdiction of both settlements to Massachu- 
setts, on condition that their inhabitants should enjoy the 
same liberties as the inhabitants of Massachusetts ; and 
that a court of justice should be established for them, the 
proprietors reserving to themselves all the property under 
the patent in Portsmouth, and one-third of that in Dover, 
and all the improved lands. The General Court con- 
sented that the inhabitants of these places should enjoy 
the same privileges as the rest of the colonies, and have a 
court with the same powers as those established at Salem 
and Ipswich ; that they should be exempted from public 
charges, and allowed to send two deputies to the General 
Court. It was subsequently ordered, that the test of 
church-membership should be dispensed with, and their 
freemen be allowed to vote in the town affairs, and their 
deputies to sit in the General Court, although not church- 
members. The next year, 1643, Exeter was admitted on 
the same terms.* 

and found that the line of latitude, as determined by the surveyors of the 
northerly line by the Merrimac, " runs on the northernmost point of an 
island, as we judge, not above two or three rods above the high water 
mark. The island is called the Upper Clapboard Island, about a quarter 
of a mile from the Main, in Gasco Bay, about four or five miles to the 
northward of Mr. Makworth's house." — Mass. Records, III., 361, 362. 
* For a full account see Belknap's Hist. N. H., I., 49-52. 



CLOSE OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE KING. 1 83 

Agawam, now Springfield, on the Connecticut River, 
was settled, in 1636, by William Pynchon and a company 
from Roxbury ; and was joined with the Connecticut 
towns, on the supersedure of the commission from Massa- 
chusetts. But its territory was plainly within the limits 
of Massachusetts, under its charter; and in June, 1641, 
upon petition of Pynchon and his associates, the General 
Court of Massachusetts asserted jurisdiction over it, and 
commissioned Pynchon to hold courts, with the powers of 
a Quarter Court ; with juries to consist of six persons, 
with the right of appeal to the Court of Assistants, " in 
matters of weight or difficulty." 

Connecticut complained to Massachusetts for this pro- 
ceeding, to which reply was made by the General Court, 
in which it was declared : " We have thought meet upon 
these occasions to intimate further unto you that we 
intend {by God's help) to know the certainty of our 
limits, to the end that we may neither intrench upon the 
right of any of our neighbours, nor suffer ourselves and our 
posterity to be deprived of what rightly belongeth unto us, 
which we hope will be without oflFence to any.* 

* Mass. Records, I., 321, 323, 324. 



CHAPTER IX. 

TOWNS, SCHOOLS, AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 

^ I ^HE number of immigrants before 1640 has been 
-*- estimated at twenty-one thousand and two hundred. 
They came over in two hundred and ninety-eight ships. 

The cost of transportation, as estimated by Johnson, 
was for swine, goats, sheep, cattle, and horses, twelve 
thousand pounds ; for food, forty-five thousand pounds ; for 
" nails, glass, and other ironwork for their meeting-houses 
and other dwelling-houses " eighteen thousand pounds ; for 
"arms, powder, bullets, and match, together with their 
great artillery," twenty-two thousand pounds ; in all eighty- 
seven thousand pounds. In 1640 there were, including 
Hampton, seventeen towns in the colony. They were 
established without any formal acts of incorporation. In 
1630 the Court of Assistants passed an order that no 
person should plant within the limits of the grant without 
leave from the governor and assistants.* This order was, 
in substance, confirmed by the General Court in March, 
1636;! and under it the Court of Assistants, from time 
to time authorised companies of immigrants, generally 
from the same neighbourhoods in England, to settle in 
different designated places. The settlements thus made 

* Mass. Records, I., 76. t Ibid, 167. 

184 



TOWNS, SCHOOLS, AND SOCIAL CONDI TLONS. I 85 

were recognised by the General Court as plantations or 
towns ; sometimes without any formal vote, and some- 
times by passage of orders that particular settlements be 
allowed to be plantations or towns. The names planta- 
tion and town were used indiscriminately. 

In 1634, a committee of nine persons was appointed by 
the General Court, to establish the bounds between the 
towns, with authority to settle any in dispute ; and, in 
1 64 1, an order was passed requiring all towns to settle 
their boundaries within twelve months after their grants. 
The General Court exercised, as it has ever since, entire 
jurisdiction over the towns ; imposed duties, and granted 
and revoked powers, at its pleasure. Within the first few 
years, it passed orders requiring each town to keep a 
watch, to provide a place for arms, to receive a constable 
of its appointment, to provide the inhabitants with arms, 
to provide standard weights and measures, and, for the 
towns near Boston, to send each ten men completely 
armed to attend the General Court of elections ; and 
authorised the towns to control the location of houses. 
In March, 1636, it adopted the following order:* 

"WHEREAS particular towns have many things which 
concern only themselves, and the ordering of their own 
affairs, and disposing of businesses in their own towns, it 
is therefore ordered that the freemen of every town, or the 
major part of them, shall only (alone) have power to dis- 
pose of their own lands and woods, with all the privileges 
and appurtenances of the said towns, to grant lots, and 

* See Mass. Records, I., 125, 319, 120, 135, 138, 148, 166, 168. 



J 86 THE BAY COLONY. 

make such orders as may concern the well ordering of 
their own towns, not repugnant to the laws and orders 
here established by the General Court ; as also to lay 
mulcts and penalties for the breach of these orders, and 
to levy and distrain the same, not exceeding the sum of 
twenty shillings ; also to choose their own particular 
officers, as constables, surveyors for the highways and the 
like ; and because much business is like to ensue to the 
constables of several towns, by reason they are to make 
distresses, and gather fines, therefore that every town shall 
have two constables, where there is need, that so then- 
office may not be a burden unto them, and they may 
attend more carefully upon the discharge of their office, 
for which they shall be liable to give their accounts to 
this court when they shall be called thereunto."* 

This was the grand foundation of the town system of 
Massachusetts, which system, while the population of the 
several towns was small, and the voters were fined for 
non-attendance at town meetings, as was the custom, 
proved to be the most perfect system of local self-govern- 
ment ever devised or administered. 

The town meetings were held in the meeting-houses. 
Although all the freemen or voters were members of the 
Church, yet the two organisations, civil and religious, 
were kept entirely independent of each other. 

The primitive meeting-houses were small and rudely 
constructed. The one first built in Dedham, which was 
settled in 1636, is described as thirty-six feet long, twenty 

* Mass. Records, I., 172. 



TOWNS, SCHOOLS, AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 1 8/ 

feet wide, and twelve feet stud, and the roof thatched 
with long grass. The first meeting-houses had no pews ; 
the men were " seated " on one side and the women on 
the other, probably on benches without backs. 

The children were kept in order by the tything men. 
A committee was appointed by each church, annually, to 
seat the members. They were seated in the order of age, 
rank, and property. In a short time, pews were con- 
structed for the elders, deacons, and magistrates ; and 
individuals, upon request, were permitted to construct 
pews in the gallery for their separate occupation. 

The houses of the people in the first period were built 
principally of logs, with thatched roofs. They were of 
one story, with lofts, or scaffolds, extending over a large 
portion of the lower room or rooms, which were reached 
by stairs or ladders. This was the sleeping apartment of 
the younger members of the family, sometimes divided 
into separate rooms by slight partitions. The ground 
floor was divided by partitions, making one large kitchen 
and living-room, and one or more sleeping-rooms. The 
floor was of clay or split logs. The fireplace was made of 
rough stones, and the chimneys of boards or short sticks 
crossing each other, and plastered inside with clay. 

In Dedham, in 1664, ninety-five of the original log- 
houses with the thatched roofs were standing near to- 
gether. In Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1678, forty 
houses built of logs were standing, " at least 1 8 feet long 
and 16 feet wide and 9 feet stud. A good chimney gave 
the domestic hearth and made them comfortable." 



1 88 THE BAY COLONY. 

In the first ten years, lumber was sawed by hand in 
saw-pits, and some sawmills were constructed, but not 
sufficient to supply the necessity for frame houses. 

Lechford gives an account of a house built in Boston, 
in 1640, for William Rix, a weaver. "It was 16 foot 
long by 14 foot wide, with a chamber floor finished sum- 
mer, and joists finished, a cellar floor with joists finished, 
the roof and walls clapboarded on the outside, the chim- 
ney framed without daubing, to be done with hewed 
timber." * 

After 1650, "the majority of the farmers and labourers, 
the common people of this period, had plain rectangular 
houses of one story, with two rooms, a kitchen or living 
room, and a family bedroom, with one or more beds, and 
a trundle-bed." | 

" The better class of houses in our second period were 
two-storied, the upper usually jutted about one foot over 
the lower story. Sometimes the roof was gambrelled, 
and often it sloped through the upper story, making the 
rear line lower than the front. The most imposing had 
one or more gables on the front, which formed attic 
chambers. 

" The frame timbers were heavy and of oak. The 
windows were two and a half to three feet long and one 
and a half to two feet wide. The glass was in diamond 
panes of three or four inches, cased in lead. These 
windows were sometimes whole, and sometimes divided 
in halves, and swinging outwards on hinges. A common 

* Weeden, I., 212. t Ibid, 214. , 



TOWNS, SCHOOLS, AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. I 89 

arrangement of the first floor was in a ' great room,' /. e., 
company room, and a kitchen, each often twenty feet 
square, with a bedroom and a large milk and cheese 
pantry. Closets clustered around the chimney on either 
floor, some of them arranged for hiding-places." "Bricks 
were laid against the inner partition or wooden wall, and 
covered with clay. Boards were placed on the outside, 
first called ' clay boards,' then corrupted into clapboards. 
Lime mortar was but little used, and was made of shells. 
Generally the inner finish was a 'daubing' of clay, some- 
times mixed with straw." * 

The kitchen of this period was large, with an immense 
fireplace with its crane, jack, spit, and pothooks. A 
Dutch oven was used for baking, covered with the em- 
bers, and later, potatoes were roasted in the hot ashes. 
Seats were placed in the chimney-corners for the chil- 
dren, and a high -back settle for the elder people in 
front of the fire. Dipped candles and slivers of pitch 
pine, or candlewood, were used for lighting in the winter 
evenings. 

The principal article of food in the earliest days was 
Indian corn. It was very productive, and was prepared 
in various ways. The Indians boiled it until it became 
tender, and ate it with fish or venison. They also parched 
it in hot ashes, then sifted it and pounded it into fine 
meal in mortars, and ate it dry or mixed with water. The 
early settlers prepared it in the same way, made dough 
and baked it. They also soaked the corn, then pounded 

• *Weeden, I., 283,284. 



IQO THE BAY COLOXY. 

it in a mortar, boiled it, and ate it with milk, or butter 
and sugar ; it was called samp. Indian or hasty pudding 
was made by boiling or baking the meal, and was eaten 
with milk and butter, and with molasses, as soon as this 
was obtained from the West Indies. Brown bread was 
made from a mixture of two parts of corn-meal with one 
part of rye. Succotash was made of beans boiled with 
corn in the milk. Broth was made of the liquor of boiled 
salt meat and pork, mixed with meal. Bean porridge was 
made of beans boiled for a long time with salt beef or 
pork. Besides corn, in the early days, pork, poultry, 
fish, and wild game furnished food. Deer, wild turkeys, 
and pigeons were abundant. After a few years, a supply 
of meat from cattle was obtained. 

Home-brewed beer was universally used. It was made 
not only from barley, but from Indian corn. The corn 
was sprouted, then washed and dried in a kiln, which 
made malt. Beer was also made from Indian corn bread, 
which was cut up and mashed, and used as malt. After 
1650, cider was used more or less in place of beer. 

Broth, bean porridge, and hasty pudding and milk, fur- 
nished the usual evening and morning meal, and hasty 
pudding and milk, boiled salt pork, and brown bread and 
cheese, the dinner. Neither coffee nor tea was used in 
that period. 

Economy and simplicity in dress were enjoined upon 
all. In 1639, the General Court declaring, "whereas there 
is much complaint of the excessive wearing of lace and 
other superfluities, tending to little use or benefit, but to 



TOWA'S, SCHOOLS, AXD SOCIAL CONDITIONS. I9I 

the nourishing of pride and exhausting of men's estates^ 
and also of evil example to others," passed an order for- 
bidding their use.* 

All ceremonies of the Church of England of " human 
invention " were discarded. The liturgy and formal 
prayers were given up in public worship ; and thanksgiv- 
ing and fast, by proclamation, were substituted for Saints' 
days and the periodical feasts and fasts of the English 
Church ; and laws, with penalties, were passed, forbidding 
the observance of " Christmas and the like." Sewall, in 
his diary, records, on the return of each Christmas day, 
with great satisfaction, the fact that the shops were open, 
and loads of wood brought into town as on other days. 

Marriages were solemnised by the magistrates, instead 
of ministers ; the oath was administered with the raising 
of the hand, instead of by kissing the book, and the months 
and days of the week were designated by numbers, in the 
place of the names adopted from the Romish Church. 

In October, 1636, the General Court voted £,^00 
towards " a school or college," one-half to be paid the next 
year, and the rest when the work was finished ; the loca- 
tion and character of the buildings to be determined at the 
next session of the court. f At a session of the court, in 
November, 1637, it was ordered, that the college be located 
at Newtown, and a committee was appointed to oversee 
the work.:}: The next spring, the name of the town was 
changed to Cambridge, and the same year, Mr. John Har- 
vard, a minister of Cambridge, died, leaving one-half of his. 

* Mass. Records, I., 274. t Ibid, 183. t Ibid, 20S, 217. 



192 THE BAY COLONY. 

estate, valued, according to Hubbard, at ;^700, and the 
whole of his library, for the endowment of the college ; and 
in March, 1639, ^^ ^^^ ordered that it be called Harvard 
College.* The college was opened for students in 1638, 
and in 1642 nine students, comprising the first class, were 
graduated. The theses of this class are preserved. 

Schools were also established at an early period in most 
of the towns ; and in November, 1647, the following order 
was passed by the General Court : 

" It being one chief object of the old deluder, Satan, to 
keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in 
former times by keeping them in an unknown tongue, 
so in these latter times by persuading from the use of 
tongues, that so at least the true sense and meaning of the 
original might be clouded by false glosses of saint-seeming 
deceivers, that learning may not be buried in the grave of 
our fathers in the Church and Commonwealth, the Lord 
assisting our endeavours, — 

" It is therefore ordered, that every township in this 
jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to the 
number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith appoint 
one within their town to teach all such children as shall 
resort to him, to write and read, whose wages shall be paid 
either by the parents or masters of such children, or by 
the inhabitants in general, by way of supply, as the major 
part of those that order the prudentials of the town shall 
appoint ; provided, those that send their children be not 
oppressed by paying much more than they can have them 
*Mass. Records, I., 253. 



TOWNS, SCHOOLS, AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 1 93 

taught for in other towns ; and it is further ordered, that 
where any town shall increase to the number of one hun- 
dred families or householders, they shall set up a grammar 
school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth so 
far as they may be fitted for the university, provided, that 
if any town neglect the performance hereof above one 
year, that every such town shall pay ^5 to the next school, 
till they shall perform this order." * 

*Mass. Records, II., 203. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. COURTS AND LAWS. 

T~^OR the first eleven years, the Court of Assistants 
-*■ exercised, without limitation, the entire judicial pow- 
ers of the colony, excepting those for a part of the time del- 
egated to the inferior quarter courts. In this period but 
few laws or orders were passed. When complaints were 
made, the court, upon a hearing, determined whether the 
conduct of the accused had been such as, in their opinion, 
to deserve punishment, and if it had been, then what 
punishment should be inflicted, with little regard to 
English precedents. There was no defined criminal code ; 
and what constituted a crime, and the measure of its 
punishment, were within the discretion of the judges for 
the time being, in each case ; and in determining offences 
they had special regard to the peculiar circumstances, and 
the purposes of the people in establishing their Common- 
wealth ; and looking to the Bible for guidance, they were 
more disposed to punish offenders for disregarding the 
ordinances of God and the rules of the churches, than for 
transgressing the laws of society. 

The people soon became alarmed at the extent of per- 
sonal discretion exercised by the magistrates, and felt that 
their liberties could not be safe under such an administra- 

194 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 1 95 

tion of law. The deputies, who represented the com- 
mons, as the freemen were styled, demanded a code of 
written laws, and in 1635, according to Winthrop, "the 
deputies, having conceived great danger to our state in 
regard that our magistrates, for want of positive laws, in 
many cases, might proceed according to their discretions, 
it was agreed that some men should be appointed to frame 
a body of grounds of laws, in resemblance to a magna 
charta, which, being allowed by some of the ministers and 
the General Court, should be received for fundamental 
laws." Accordingly the governor and others were 
appointed by the General Court for the purpose.* But 
it does not appear that they performed the duty assigned 
them, and in 1636, another committee, composed of mag- 
istrates and ministers, was appointed.! The records do 
not show that this committee acted, but according to 
Winthrop, Mr. Cotton of the committee reported "a 
model of Moses his judicials, compiled in an exact method, 
which was taken into further consideration till the next 
General Court. "J They did not prove satisfactory to the 
people, and were not adopted. In March, 1638, the 
General Court ordered that the freemen of the several 
towns should assemble " and collect the heads of such 
necessary and fundamental laws as may be suitable to the 
times and places where God by His Providence hath cast 
us ; " and report the same, in writing, to the governor 
before the fifth day of June, when a committee of the 
magistrates and ministers, of which Rev. Nathaniel Ward 

* Winthrop, I., 160. t Mass. Records, I., 174. \ Winthrop, I., 202. 



196 THE BAY COLONY. 

was a member, should make a compendious abridgment of 
the same for the consideration of the General Court in 
the autumn.* The next action upon the subject was in 
1639, when another committee was directed to peruse all 
the "models" which had been or should be presented, — 
"draw them up into one body," and send copies to the 
several towns.f Winthrop commented on the proceedings 
as follows : " The people had long desired a body of 
laws, and thought their condition very unsafe, while so 
much power rested in the discretion of magistrates. 
Divers attempts had been made at former courts, and the 
matter referred to some of the magistrates and some of 
the elders ; but still it came to no effect ; for, being com- 
mitted to the care of many, whatsoever was done by some, 
was still disliked or neglected by others. At last, it was 
referred to Mr. Cotton and Mr. Nathaniel Ward, etc., and 
each of them framed a model, which were presented to 
this General Court and by them committed to the gover- 
nor and deputy and some others, to consider of and so 
prepare it for the court in the third month next. Two 
great reasons there were, which caused most of the mag- 
istrates and some of the elders not to be very forward in 
this matter. One was, want of sufficient experience of 
the nature and disposition of the people, considered with 
the condition of the country and other circumstances, which 
made them conceive that such laws would be fittest for 
us, which should arise pro re nata, upon occasions, etc., 
and so the laws of England and other States grew ; and 

*Mass. Records, I., 222. t Ibid, 279. 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 1 97 

therefore the fundamental laws of England are called 
customs, consnetudines. 2. For that it would professedly 
transgress the limits of our charter, which provides, we 
shall make no laws repugnant to the laws of England, 
and that we were assured we must do. But to raise up 
laws by practice and custom had been no transgression, 
as in our church discipline ; and in matters of marriage, 
to make a law that marriages should not be solemnised by 
ministers, is repugnant to the laws of England ; but to 
bring it to a custom by practice for the magistrates to 
perform it, is no law made repugnant, etc. At length 
(to satisfy the people) it proceeded and the two models 
were digested with divers alterations and additions, and 
abbreviated, and sent to every town, to be considered of, 
first by the magistrates and elders, and then to be pub- 
lished by the constables to all the people, that if any man 
should think fit, that anything therein ought to be 
altered, he might acquaint some of the deputies therewith 
against the next court."* 

In May, 1640, another order was passed in regard to 
the " Breviate of laws " which had been sent to the towns, 
in which the desire was expressed, "That they will 
endeavour to ripen their thoughts and counsels about the 
same by the General Court in the next 8th month. "f 

In October, 1641, Mr. Ward was requested to furnish a 
copy of the liberties and of the capital laws, and it was 
ordered that nineteen copies be transcribed to be paid for 
at ten shillings a copy, by the constables of the several 

* Winthrop, I., 322, 323. t Mass. Records, I., 292. 



198 THE BAY COLONY. 

towns, and in December, "the body of laws formerly sent 
forth among the freemen, etc., was voted to stand in force, 
etc."* It was further ordered that these laws "be 
audibly read and deliberately weighed at every General 
Court that shall be held, within three years next ensuing, 
and such of them as shall not be altered or repealed they 
shall stand so ratified."! In March, 1644, a committee 
was appointed to consider the Body of Liberties, and 
report what should be repealed or allowed. | There is no 
record of any report having been made by the committee. 
It is plain that the great delay in the preparation and 
adoption of this instrument was caused by the magistrates 
and ministers who desired to create a common law for the 
colony based upon customs arising out of, and adapted to, 
the peculiar condition and circumstances of the people ; 
and who were apprehensive that the adoption of a rigid 
code of written laws might prove a hindrance to the 
growth of such a system ; and, besides, that any code of 
written laws, which would be approved by the people, 
must necessarily, in some particulars, be repugnant to the 
laws of England, which, by their charter, they were for- 
bidden to make. 

The Body of Liberties, as adopted, was prepared by 
Rev. Nathaniel Ward, who had been a minister in Ips- 
wich for about two years. He had been educated to 
the law, and practised in England, before he studied for 
the ministry. He was a man of great ability, and his 

* Mass. Records, I., 340, 344, 346. t Whitmore's Colonial Laws, 1889, 61. 
\ Mass. Records, II., 61. 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 1 99 

legal training admirably fitted him for the performance of 
this important duty. The code comprised one hundred 
laws, civil and criminal. The civil laws it contained were 
in advance of the laws of England at the time ; and were 
in substance adopted in every subsequent codification of 
the laws of the colony ; and some of them are in force at 
the present time ; and others form the basis of existing 
laws. The criminal laws were taken principally from the 
Mosaic code, and although many of them at the present 
day seem harsh and cruel, yet, as a whole, they were very 
much milder than the criminal laws of England at the 
time, and the number of capital offences was greatly 
reduced.* The Body of Liberties contained the following 
brief bill of rights: " No man's life shall be taken away, 
no man's honour or good name shall be stained, no man's 
person shall be arrested, restrained, banished, dismem- 
bered, nor any ways punished, no man shall be deprived 
of his wife or children, no man's goods or estate shall be 
taken away from him, nor any way damaged under colour 
of law, or countenance of authority, unless it be by virtue 
or equity of some express law of the country warranting 
the same, established by a General Court and sufficiently 
published, or in case of the defect of a law in any particu- 
lar case by the word of God. And in capital cases, or in 
cases concerning dismembering or banishment, according 
to that word to be judged by the General Court." f 

* See page 97, ante. 

t For the full text of the Body of Liberties see Whitmore's Colonial 
Laws, Ed. 1889. 



200 THE BAY COLOXY. 

The instrument further declared, among other things, 
that persons, whether citizens or foreigners, shall "enjoy 
the same justice and law" within the jurisdiction, without 
partiality or delay ; that no man shall be compelled to go 
out of the limits of the Commonwealth in any offensive 
war, but shall be upon "such vindictive and defensive 
wars " as shall be undertaken by the council with the 
consent of, or authority derived from the General Court ; 
that no monopolies shall be granted or allowed, except for 
new inventions that are profitable to the country, and to 
them only for a short time ; that all lands and inherit- 
ances shall be free from all fines, license for alienations, 
etc., and from all escheats and forfeitures upon the death 
of parents or other ancestors ; that any person being an 
inhabitant or a foreigner, a freeman or otherwise, might 
attend any public court, council or town meeting, and 
move any proper question, or present any proper motion, 
complaint, petition, bill, or information of which the 
meeting had cognisance, if done in convenient time, due 
order, and in a respectful manner; that all conveyances 
in fraud of creditors shall be invalid ; that " every inhab- 
itant that is an householder shall have free fishing and 
fowling in any great ponds and bays, coves and rivers, so 
far as the sea ebbs and flows within the precincts of the 
town where they dwell, unless the freemen of the same 
town or the General Court have otherwise appropriated 
them, provided that this shall not be extended to give 
leave to any man to come upon other's propriety without 
their leave ; " that all persons charged with crime, except 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 20I 

capital offences and contempt of court, be admitted to 
bail with sufficient sureties ; that the court might fine 
such as instituted malicious prosecutions ; that legal pro- 
ceedings should not be abated " upon any kind of circum- 
stantial errors or mistakes, if the persons and cause be 
rightly understood and intended by the court ; " that any 
person who considers himself incompetent to plead his 
own cause in court might employ any man acceptable to 
the court, to help him, " provided he give him no fee or 
reward for his pains;" that the plaintiff in any action 
might become nonsuit, before verdict, but should pay all 
costs, upon which, he might bring his action anew ; that 
trials, civil or criminal, might, by consent of both parties, 
be tried by either a judge or a jury ; that either party in 
a civil suit, and the defendant in a criminal prosecution, 
might challenge any of the jury, which if found just and 
reasonable, upon a hearing by the bench or the jury, at 
the election of the challenger, " it shall be allowed him, 
and talcs dc ciixurn stantibus^ impanelled in their room ;" 
that when the evidence on a trial should be " obscure or 
defective," the jury might return a iiou liquet (it is not 
clear), or a special verdict ; that in the special verdict 
they should present such facts as they should find, leav- 
ing it to the court to render judgment, and that if the 
court should dissent from the verdict of a jury, the case 

* When, upon the impanelling of a jury for the trial of a cause, or upon 
challenge, it appears that there are not jurors present sufficient to fill the 
panel, the court may direct an officer to supply the deficiency from among 
the " by-standers." 



'202 THE BAY COLONY. 

should be referred to the General Court ; that any per- 
son might appeal from the judgment of an inferior court 
to the Court of Assistants, and make complaint to the 
General Court, " of any injustice done him in any Court of 
Assistants, or other ; " that any conveyance or contract 
procured by duress should be void ; that a person indicted, 
should be entitled to a trial at the next term of the court ; 
that " no man shall be beaten with above forty stripes, 
nor shall any true gentleman, nor any man equal to a 
gentleman be punished with whipping, unless his crime 
be very shameful, and his course of life vicious and profli- 
gate ; " " that for bodily punishments we allow amongst us 
none that are inhumane, barbarous or cruel ; " that the 
" civil authority hath power and liberty to deal with any 
church-member in a way of civil justice, notwithstanding 
any church relation, office, or interest ; " that " no church 
censure shall degrade or depose any man from any civil 
dignity, office, or authority he shall have in the Common- 
wealth ; " that deputies for a town may be elected from 
any part of the Commonwealth, to hold their place " from 
court to court, or at the most but for one year, that the 
country may have an annual liberty to do in that case 
what is most behooful for the best welfare thereof;" 
that "whenever any jury of trials or jurors are not clear 
in their judgments or consciences concerning any cause 
wherein they are to give their verdict, they shall have 
liberty in open court to advise with any man they think 
fit to resolve or direct them, before they give in their 
verdict ; " "that every married woman shall be free from 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 203 

bodily correction or stripes by her husband, unless it be 
in his own defence upon her assault ; " that when a 
parent dies intestate, "the elder son shall have a double 
portion of his whole estate, real and personal," and if he 
leaves no son, his daughters shall inherit in equal shares ; 
that " if any people of other nations, professing the true 
Christian religion, shall flee to us from the tyranny or 
oppression of their persecutors, or from famine, wars, or 
the like necessary and compulsory cause, they shall be 
entertained and succoured amongst us, according to that 
power and prudence God shall give us ; " that there shall 
be no slavery except of captives taken in just wars, "and 
such strangers as willingly sell themselves or are sold to 
us, and these shall have all the liberties and Christian 
usages which the law of God established in Israel con- 
cerning such persons doth morally require," and that "no 
man shall exercise any tyranny or cruelty towards any 
brute creature that is usually kept for man's use." 

The Body of Liberties contained twelve capital laws ; 
one was for treason, three for murder, one for witchcraft, 
and three for blasphemy and the like. 

The laws relating to the churches will be considered in 
another connection. 

The Mosaic code was their guide in framing laws ; and 
the capital offences were supplemented by marginal refer 
ence to book, chapter, and verse in the Bible, from which 
their punishments were derived. The true intent of the 
Body of Liberties is expressed as follows, in the 96th 
article : " However these above specified rites, freedoms. 



204 THE BAY COLONY. 

immunities, authorities and privileges, both civil and eccle- 
siastical, are expressed only under the name and title of 
Liberties, and not in the exact form of laws or statutes, 
yet we do with one consent fully authorise, and earnestly 
intreat all that are and shall be in authority to consider 
them as laws, and not to fail to inflict condign and pro- 
portionable punishment upon every man impartially, that 
shall infringe or violate any of them." 

The deputies had, from time to time, questioned the 
right of the governor and assistants to exercise judicial 
powers ; and in 1644, the General Court sent for the elders, 
" to reconcile the differences between the magistrates and 
deputies" on the subject.* In answer to questions pro- 
pounded by the magistrates and by the deputies, the 
elders replied in substance, that by the patent the governor 
and assistants were to be elected by the freemen, and 
when elected were the standing council of the Common- 
wealth, in the vacancy of the General Court ; and as such 
had power to act in all cases, in accordance with the patent 
and the laws ; and that in emergencies for which there 

* By the practice in the colony, the General Court, from time to time, 
propounded questions to the ministers, which they answered in writing. 
The proceeding was similar to that under a provision of our constitution, 
requiring the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court to give to either 
branch of the Legislature, or to the governor and council, upon request, 
opinions upon important questions of law, and upon solemn occasions. 
The opinions given by the ministers, which have been preserved, are very 
able, and will, in logic and sound reasoning, bear a not unfavourable com- 
parison with opinions of the justices, given under this provision of our 
constitution. 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 205 

was no express law they were to be guided by the word of 
God, until the General Court adopted rules for the same ; 
that the ordinary administration of justice was given to the 
governor and assistants ; and that the freemen, or deputies, 
when the power was delegated to them by the freemen, 
had only the power, in connection with the governor and 
assistants, at a General Court to impeach, for cause, any 
officers, and to act in any case of appeal to the General 
Court authorised by law ; and in reply to questions by the 
deputies, whether it was right to " prescribe certain pen- 
alties to offences which may probably admit variable 
degrees of guilt," and whether a judge must pronounce 
sentence as prescribed by a positive law if the evidence 
proved a crime of greater or less magnitude than that 
stated in the law, the elders replied that certain fixed 
penalties should be prescribed for capital offences, and for 
some other high crimes, as prescribed by Scripture, but 
that in other offences the "variable circumstances" were 
to be considered, and laws made, distinguishing the differ- 
ent degrees of crime ; and that under circumstances 
"which concern only the person of the offender," as 
whether it was the first offence, or whether he was enticed, 
or whether it was done thoughtlessly or designedly, in such 
cases "the penalty should be expressed with a latitude, 
whereof the lowest degree to be expressed (suppose five 
shillings, or, as the case may be, five stripes), and the 
highest degree twenty shillings, or stripes, more or less ; 
within which compass or latitude it may be free to a 
magistrate to aggravate or mitigate the penalty, etc. Yet 



206 THE BAY COLONY. 

even here, also, care would be taken that a magistrate 
attend, in the sentence, as much as may be, to a certain 
rule in these circumstances, lest some persons, whose sins 
be alike circumstanced with others, if their punishment be 
not equal, etc., may think themselves more unequally 
dealt withal than are others ; but that no judge should sen- 
tence to more than the prescribed penalty ; but that where 
the law may seem to the conscience of the judge to inflict 
a greater penalty than the offence deserveth, it is his part 
to suspend his sentence, till, by conference with the law- 
givers, he finds liberty, either to inflict the sentence or to 
mitigate it." 

To the question by the deputies, " whether the magis- 
tratical power be not given by the patent to the people or 
General Court, and by them to the governor, etc., it was 
replied, that magistratical power is given to the governor, 
etc., by the patent. To the people is given, by the same 
patent, to design the persons to those places of govern- 
ment ; and to the General Court power is given to make 
laws, as the rules of their administration." 

These opinions were accepted by a vote of the General 
Court, " and most of the deputies were now well satisfied 
concerning the authority of the magistrates, etc." * 

With the increase of the population of the colony, came 
a necessity for additional tribunals of justice; and in 
March, 1636, four local courts, each to hold quarter 
annual sessions, were established by the General Court ; 
one to be held in Ipswich for Ipswich and Newbury ; one 
* Winthrop, II., 204-209. Mass. Records, II., 90-96. 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 20J 

in Salem for Salem and Saugus, now Lynn ; one in New- 
town, now Cambridge, for Newtown, Charlestown, Con- 
cord, Medford, and Watertown ; and one in Boston, for 
Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Weymouth, and Hingham. 
They were known as quarter courts.* These courts were 
to be held by some magistrates residing in or near the 
said town, and such other persons, as associates, as the 
General Court should appoint from a list of persons nomi- 
nated by the several towns for the purpose. They were 
known as commissioners. The General Court was to 
appoint a magistrate specially for each court, but any 
other magistrates could attend and take part. The court 
was to consist of five members, of whom one at least 
should be a magistrate, and three {one being a magistrate) 
should constitute a quorum. To these courts was given 
exclusive jurisdiction in all civil cases, whereof the debt 
or damage did not exceed ten shillings, and in all criminal 
cases not concerning life, member, or banishment. An 
appeal was given to the Court of Assistants, or the Great 
Quarter Court as it was styled in the law.f The first 
session of this court was held at Salem, June 27, 1636.I 

In 1 64 1, the General Court established four quarter 
annual courts in Essex County ; two to be held at Ipswich, 
and two at Salem, to be presided over by magistrates and 

* Mass. Records, I., 169. 

t Ibid, 169, 175. 

I The records of this court are in the clerk's office in the Court House, 
Salem. The first session was held by " Cp. John Endicott, Esqr., Cpt.. 
Nath. Turner, Mr. Townsend Bishopp, Mr. Tho: Scrugg." 



208 THE BAY COLONY. 

commissioners, substantially as under the law of 1636 ; 
but after 1650 the commissioners were elected by the 
people of the several counties. Provision was made for 
the session of a grand jury once a year, in each place. To 
these courts was given the jurisdiction, civil and criminal, 
before exercised by the Court of Assistants, except on the 
criminal side, trials for life, limb, or banishment, which 
were reserved to the Court of Assistants ; and in civil 
cases the Court of Assistants reserved concurrent jurisdic- 
tion, where the damages exceeded one hundred pounds. 
In the same law, Salisbury and Hampton were placed 
under the jurisdiction of the Ipswich court. A right of 
appeal to the Court of Assistants was also given, in all 
cases. These courts had probate jurisdiction, and the 
clerks performed the duties of register.* They also laid 
out highways, licensed taverns, and were charged to see 
that there was an able ministry, and that it was well sup- 
ported ; and in 1664, were authorised to admit freemen. 
The judges of these courts were also given equity jurisdic- 
tion by an act of 1685, a short time before the charter was 
declared forfeited. From an early period, assistants or 
magistrates were invested with substantially the powers 
of a justice of the peace, and had jurisdiction in civil cases, 
except where the title to land was in issue, and the debt 
did not exceed twenty shillings, afterwards increased to 
forty shillings ; f but no justices of the peace, eo nomine, 
were appointed in the colony, except the governor and 

* Mass. Records, I., 325. 

t Ibid, 89, 239. Mass. Records, II., 279. 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 209 

deputy governor for the time being, Sir Richard Salton- 
stall, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Endicott, and Mr. Ludlow of the 
assistants, who were appointed in 1630.* 

By an act passed in 1638, the General Court was, from 
time to time, to appoint, in each town in which there 
should be no resident magistrate, three persons as com- 
missioners of small causes, two of them to constitute a 
quorum. By a subsequent act, these commissioners were 
to be approved by the several county courts. They were 
given, by different acts, substantially the powers of single 
magistrates in trials of causes, f Selectmen of towns, in 
which there was a magistrate, were empowered to try 
civil cases under forty shillings, in which the magistrate 
had a personal interest. :|: The General Court appointed, 
annually, in each town, a clerk of the writs, who was 
authorised to grant attachments and summons, replevin 
writs, take replevin bonds and issue summons for 
witnesses. § 

The governor or deputy governor, and two magistrates, 
were authorised, by an act passed in 1639, ^o try cases 
in which a stranger or non-resident was a party, and to 
transmit their records of the same to a court having juris- 
diction, there to be entered and judgment rendered. It 
was intended to relieve such parties from the delays 
incident to a trial in the ordinary course of justice. || This 
law was in force but a short time. 

* Mass. Records, I., 74. § Ibid, 344. 

t Ibid, 239. II Ibid, 264. 

} Mass. Records, II., 162. 



210 THE BAY COLONY. 

Upon the completion of the judicial system of the 
colony, the jurisdictions of the several courts were as 
follows : 

The General Court retained all legislative powers and 
limited appellate authority from the Court of Assistants, 
and certain supervisory powers over all the courts. 

The Court of Assistants had exclusive jurisdiction in 
all criminal cases extending " to life, limb, or banishment," 
concurrent jurisdiction with the county courts in all civil 
causes in which the damages were more than one hundred 
pounds, and appellate jurisdiction from the county courts. 
It also, by an act passed in 1674, was given admiralty 
jurisdiction. It had substantially the same powers after- 
wards conferred on the Superior Court of the Province 
and the Supreme Judicial Court of the State. But, upon 
appeals from a county court, the testimony given in that 
court, and no other, was allowed. The same rule was 
applied upon appeals from the Court of Assistants to the 
General Court. The sessions of this court were all held 
in Boston. 

The county or inferior quarter courts had jurisdiction 
in all cases, and matters not reserved to the Court of 
Assistants, or conferred upon single magistrates and com- 
missioners of small causes, including matters of probate. 
They had essentially the powers, except in matters of 
probate, which were afterwards conferred on the Court 
of Common Pleas, and General Court of Sessions of the 
Province and of the State ; and now upon the Superior 
Court and boards of county commissioners. Single mag- 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 211 

istrates, and commissioners of small causes, or town 
courts, were invested with substantially the powers of a 
justice of the peace. 

The writs, declarations, complaints, indictments, plead- 
ings, and course of proceedings in the courts were simple, 
brief, and informal. For the first twenty years the testi- 
mony on a trial was written down by the clerk of the 
court, and became a part of the records in a case. In 
1647 an order was passed, that any magistrate or com- 
missioner appointed for the purpose, might take, in writ- 
ing, the testimony of any person of fourteen years of age 
or upwards, "of sound reputation," in any civil or criminal 
case, and keep it until the court convened, or deliver it to 
the recorder, public notary, or clerk of the writs, to be re- 
corded, that " so nothing may be altered in it ; " provided, 
that if the witness resided within ten miles of the court, it 
should not be used on the trial, unless the witness was 
present to be further examined, and that in all capital 
cases the witnesses must be present ; and in 1650, on 
account of the inconvenience of " taking verbal testimony 
in courts, by reason of many imperitances in their rela- 
tions, so that the clarks cannot well make a perfect record 
thereof," it was ordered, that henceforth all testimony be 
given in writing, to be attested in court if the witness 
lived within ten miles of it, and before a magistrate, if the 
witness lived at a longer distance. These papers, or affi- 
davits, went to the jury, who returned them into court 
with their verdict. From this it appears that witnesses 
were not cross-examined in court, and that the sole duty 



212 THE BAY COLONY. 

to be performed by a party or his assistant upon trial was 
to argue his case. 

In 1639, it w^s ordered that, "henceforward every 
judgment, with all the evidence, be recorded in a book, 
to be kept to posterity ; " also, that records be kept of all 
wills, administrations, and inventories ; and of marriages, 
births, and deaths.* 

It was the practice for a person intending to bring a 
civil action to first consult privately with the magistrates 
before whom it was to be tried, and state to them his case. 
Mr. Ward, in a sermon before the General Court, in 1641, 
censured this practice ; and the subject was discussed by 
the members. Some of the deputies, agreeing with Mr. 
Ward, proposed an order on the subject, forbidding the 
practice. This was opposed by some of the assistants, 
and their reasons given were, that if the practice should 
be abandoned " we must then provide lawyers to direct 
men in their causes ; " that the magistrates should be 
informed of the case before granting process, as in crimi- 
nal cases, " that they might either divert the suit, if the 
cause be unjust, or direct it in a right course if it be good ; " 
that by this practice " the magistrate hath opportunity to 
end many differences in a friendly way, without charge to 
the parties or trouble to the court ; " that it abbreviates 
the work of and aids the court in determining the merits 
of the case, " no advocate being allowed, and the parties 
being not able, for the most part, to open the cause fully 
and clearly, especially in public ; " and that the answer to 

* Mass. Records, I., 275, 276. 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 21 3 

the objection of the danger that the magistrate might be 
prejudiced by such ex parte hearing, was, that if the prac- 
tice be a useful one, " it must not be laid aside for the 
temptations which are incident to it, for in the least duties 
men were exposed to great temptations.* It does not 
appear that any action was taken on the proposed 
order. 

When upon a trial there was insufficient evidence to 
convict, juries were authorised to find that there were 
strong grounds of suspicion ; and upon this finding the 
court would give sentence for what it appeared to them, 
on the trial, the defendant was guilty of, though not 
charged in the indictment, or found by the jury. Hutch- 
inson states that he has "met with instances of one of 
the court standing up after a verdict of the petit jury of 
not guilty in a capital trial, and charging the prisoner, in 
open court, with burglary and theft, which were not 
capital, and a new trial ordered upon such charge, f 

If the court disapproved of the verdict of a jury it 
could refuse to accept it ; in which event the cause was 
carried to the next Court of Assistants, or to the General 

* Winthrop, II., 35, 36. 

t In 1681, Governor Hinckley, of Plymouth, wrote to Judge Stoughton 
for advice in a case which had occurred at Plymouth. Judge Stoughton 
replied : " The testimony you mention against the prisoner, I think is 
clear, and sufficient to convict him; but, in case your jury should not be of 
that opinion, then, if you hold yourself strictly bound by the laws of 
England, no other verdict but not guilty can be brought in. But, accord- 
ing to our practice, in this jurisdiction, we should punish him with some 
grievous punishment, according to the demerit of his crime, though not 
found capital." Hutchinson, I., 401, n. 



214 THE BAY COLONY. 

Court, as the case might be, for determination. On the 
trial of Anne Hibbins for witchcraft, in 1656, the jury 
found the defendant guilty ; but the Court of Assistants, 
before whom she was tried, refused to accept the verdict ; 
whereupon the case was carried to the General Court, 
which sustained the verdict of the jury, and she was con- 
victed and executed.* This was the law until 1672, when 
the General Court enacted that the verdict of a jury, the 
court having upon the trial given full explanation of the 
law, should be accepted, and judgment rendered upon it ; 
and that if a party felt aggrieved by the verdict he might 
seek his remedy by attainting the jury.f This was modi- 
fied in 1682, by an act requiring that the party seeking 
this redress should specify in writing the grounds of his 
attaint, and that, if he failed in his action, he should be 
fined ten pounds, and pay forty shillings to each juror, and 
be subject to an action of slander by the jurors he had 
charged with corruption. J 

The actions in civil cases were replevin, debt, trespass, 
and case. Case was the most common form, and was 
employed in suits to recover lands as well as for damages 
for breach of contract. 

In order to expedite proceedings in court, a law was 
passed in 1656, authorising the fining of a party twenty 

* Mass. Records, IV., part I., 269. 

t Mass. Records, IV., part II., 50S. Under this law, a person aggrieved 
by the verdict of a jury could bring a writ of attaint against its members, 
charging that they had rendered a false verdict. 

I Mass. Records, V., 449. 



THE BODY OF LIBERTIES. 21 5 

shillings an hour for the time occupied in his plea beyond 
the time of one hour. * 

Notwithstanding the fact that the General Court made 
no recognition of the common law in its enactments, it 
was not entirely regardless of its value, and in 1647 
ordered the importation from England, of two copies each 
of the following books : Sir Edward Coke on Littleton, 
Book of Entries, Sir Edward Coke on Magna Charta, The 
New Terms of the Law, Dalton's Justice of the Peace, Sir 
Edward Coke's Reports. f 

During the colonial period of fifty-five years, the only 
men of the assistants or magistrates who had been edu- 
cated in the law were Winthrop, Bellingham, Humphrey, 
and probably Pelham and Bradstreet. But they were 
desirous of establishing a Bible Commonwealth, and had 
as little regard for the common law, or legal precedents, as 
any of their associates ; and during this entire period the 
only person of legal education who practised in the courts 
was Thomas Lechford, who, after a practice of two years, 
for tampering with a jury, was forbidden to practise. He 
soon after returned to England, and in 1642 published a 
satirical book, entitled " Plain dealing, or News from New 
England." But in this period there were men who 
practised as attorneys. They were ignorant of the prin- 
ciples of the law, were bound by no oaths, and were 
irresponsible to the courts. It is not unreasonable to 
suppose that, as a class, they did not have the confidence 
of the people. The names are given of five persons who 

* Washburn, Jud. Hist. Mass., 52. t Mass. Records, II., 212. 



2l6 THE BAY COLONY. 

acted in this capacity. Three were, or had been, mer- 
chants, one an apothecary, and the other a tailor. The 
conduct of this class of practitioners was such as called 
for a law against barratry, which was passed in 1641 ; and 
in 1663 the General Court passed an act excluding 
" usual and common attorneys " from a seat in their body. 
As legal proceedings were conducted with but little 
regard to rules or precedents, there was but little occasion 
or opportunity for attorneys learned in the law. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE CONFEDERATION. 

"X T HTH the growth of the colonies the necessity for an 
* ^ organised system of cooperation for defensive 
purposes was felt. Plymouth, in its troubles with the 
French on the Penobscot, had called upon Massachusetts 
for assistance, which was declined, except upon promise of 
reimbursement by Plymouth ; Connecticut, in the war with 
the Pequots, had called upon Massachusetts and Plymouth 
for aid, which was tardily rendered ; and New Haven, 
being a remote frontier settlement, felt the necessity of 
support from the other colonies in the event of attacks 
from the Indians or the Dutch. 

At the close of the Pequot war, some magistrates and 
ministers of Connecticut held an informal conference with 
the Massachusetts authorities at Boston, with a view to 
confederation. Notice of the meeting was given to Plym- 
outh, but too late for it to take part. In 1638, Massa- 
chusetts proposed a plan for union, which was not 
acceptable to Connecticut. Massachusetts claimed that 
in the proposed confederation the vote of a majority of 
the commissioners from the several colonies should be 
binding upon all. To this Connecticut objected, and 
claimed that final action should be had only when the 

217 



2l8 THE BAY COLONY. 

commissioners were unanimous, and that, in the event of 
differences of opinion, the subject should be referred back 
to the legislatures of the several colonies for final decision. 

But in 1642, Connecticut, being apprehensive of trouble 
with the Dutch, took active measures for the establish 
ment of a confederacy, and Plymouth, which had hesitated, 
became convinced of the necessity for it, and in May, 1643, 
commissioners from Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecti- 
cut, Saybrook, and New Haven, met at Boston. 

The commissioners from Plymouth were Mr. Winslow 
and Mr. Collier ; from Massachusetts, the governor, Mr. 
Wlnthrop, Mr. Dudley, and Mr. Bradstreet of the assist- 
ants, and Captain Gibbons, Mr. Tyng, and Mr. Hathorne 
of the deputies ; Mr. Haynes and Mr. Hopkins represented 
Connecticut ; Mr. Fenwick, Saybrook, and Mr. Eaton and 
Mr. Grigson represented New Haven. The settlements 
in Maine by Gorges, in Providence under Roger Williams, 
and at Aquedneck, now Newport, and Portsmouth in Rhode 
Island, composed largely of the adherents of Mrs. Hutchin 
son, on account of jealousies and disagreements in religious 
matters, were not invited to the conference. Subsequently, 
the inhabitants of Aquedneck petitioned for leave to join 
the confederacy, but were refused, unless they would put 
themselves under the jurisdiction of Plymouth or Massa- 
chusetts. 

Winthrop says, " These coming to consultation encoun- 
tered some difficulties, but being all desirous of union and 
studious of peace, they readily yielded each to the other 
in such things as tended to common utility, etc., so as in 



THE CONFEDERATION. 219 

some two or three meetings they lovingly accorded upon 
these ensuing articles, which being allowed by our court 
and signed by all the commissioners, were sent to be also 
ratified by the General Courts of other jurisdictions ; only 
Plymouth commissioners having power only to treat, but 
not to determine, deferred the signing of them till they 
came home, but soon after they were ratified by their 
General Court also." * 

In the words of Doyle, " The real hindrance to union 
was the inequality which could not fail to exist between 
the partners. In population, in wealth, in learning, in the 
security of her possessions, in the friendship of those who 
were now rising into power in England, Massachusetts 
towered over the other colonies. The actual number of 
the population in the various colonies may be a matter of 
doubt, but their relative resources are made certain by the 
first levy under the Articles of Confederation. That levy 
was proportioned to the inhabitants of each colony fit to 
bear arms. Massachusetts contributed a hundred and fifty 
men, Plymouth thirty, the other two confederates twenty- 
five each. In other words, the military resources of Mas- 
sachusetts were nearly double those of the other three 
colonies combined. Her superiority in other respects does 
not admit of such definite statistical proof, but it is written 
on every page of New England history." f 

The preamble to the articles is as follows : " Whereas 
we all came into these parts of America with one and the 
same end and aim, namely, to advance the kingdom of 

* Winthrop, II., 100. t Doyle, The Puritan Colonies, I., 229. 



220 THE BAY COLONY. 

our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the 
Gospel in purity with peace ; and whereas by our settling, 
by the wise providence of God, we are further dispersed 
upon the seacoasts and rivers than was at first intended, so 
that we cannot, according to our desire, with convenience 
communicate in one government and jurisdiction ; and 
whereas we live encompassed with people of several 
nations and strange languages, which hereafter may prove 
injurious to us or our posterity; and forasmuch as the 
natives have formerly committed sundry insolences and 
outrages upon several plantations of the English, and 
have of late combined themselves against us, and seeing 
by reason of the said distractions in England (which they 
have heard of), and by which they know we are hindered 
both from that humble way of seeking advice, and reap- 
ing those comfortable fruits of protection, which at other 
times we might well expect, we therefore do conceive it 
our bounden duty, without delay, to enter into a present 
consociation amongst ourselves for mutual help and 
strength in all future concernment, that, as in nation and 
religion, so in other respects, we be and continue one, 
according to the tenor and true meaning of the ensuing 
articles : " 

The first article gives the name, the United Colonies of 
New England. 

The second is as follows : " These United Colonies for 
themselves and their posterities, do jointly and severally 
hereby enter into a firm and perpetual league of friend- 
ship and amity, for offence and defence, mutual advice 



THE CONFEDERATION. 221 

and succour upon all just occasions, both for preserving 
and propagating the truth and liberties of the Gospel, and 
for their own mutual safety and welfare." 

The third carefully defines and protects local self- 
government in the several colonies, provides that no other 
colony be admitted to the confederacy, that neither of the 
colonies should confederate with any other colony then in 
being, and that no two of the colonies should unite, with- 
out the consent of the others, to be given as provided in 
article six. 

The fourth provides that the charge of all just wars, 
whether offensive or defensive, in men, provisions, and 
other expenditures, should be borne by the several col- 
onies in proportion to the number of male inhabitants in 
each, between the ages of sixteen and sixty, and that the 
commissioners from each colony should, from time to 
time, render a just and true account of the number of 
such inhabitants in their colony. It also provides that 
each colony "be left to their own just coui'se or custom 
of rating themselves and people according to their dif- 
ferent estates, with due respect to their qualities and 
exemptions among themselves," without inquisition by 
the confederate government, and that all lands or goods 
taken in war should be divided among the colonies accord- 
ing to the foregoing proportions. 

The fifth provides that, if either colony should be in- 
vaded by an enemy, all the others should, upon notice and 
request of three magistrates of the invaded colony, im- 
mediately send to it aid in the following proportions, until 



222 THE BAY COLONY. 

the actual proportions be ascertained. Massachusetts 
one hundred men, and each of the other colonies forty- 
five men, properly armed and provided for the service, 
" or any less number if less be required, according to this 
proportion," but that if the exigencies of the invaded 
colony could be met by a force from an adjoining colony, 
not exceeding in number its quota as above, it might call 
upon such colony without calling upon the others, and 
should supply the men thus summoned with whatever 
would be necessary for them on their journey home. 
But no colony could, in this manner, be called upon to 
furnish more than such quota ; but if the commissioners 
at a meeting should decide that a larger force was neces- 
sary, they might order more men to be furnished in the 
above proportions, until at the next meeting the actual 
number of inhabitants in each colony, between the ages of 
sixteen and sixty, could be ascertained, when the pro- 
portions should be made to conform to the actual num- 
bers. It further provides that, in case of any aid being 
sent by one colony to another as above provided, either 
before or after revision, the cause of such invasion or war 
should be duly considered by the commissioners, and that 
if it appears " that the fault lay in the party invaded, 
that then that jurisdiction or plantation make just satis- 
faction both to the invaders whom they have injured, and 
bear all the charge of war against themselves, without 
requiring any allowance from the rest of the confederates 
towards the same." It further provides that, if either 
colony deems itself to be in danger of an invasion, and there 



THE CONFEDERATION. 223 

is not time for a meeting of the commissioners, three mag- 
istrates of the threatened colony, and if such colony have 
only three, then that two magistrates might summon, at 
a convenient place designated by them, a meeting of the 
commissioners to consider of and provide against the 
threatened danger. 

The sixth provides that two commissioners be chosen 
"by and out of" each colony, "all in church fellowship 
with us," with full powers, from their respective general 
courts, " for the managing and concluding of all affairs 
peculiar to, and concerning the whole confederation ; " and 
that said commissioners should " hear, examine, weigh, and 
determine all affairs of war or peace, leagues, aids, charges 
and numbers of men for war, division of spoils, or what- 
ever is gotten by conquest ; receiving of more confeder- 
ates or plantations," , . . "and all things of like nature 
which are the proper concomitants or consequents of such 
a confederation for amity, offence, and defence, not inter- 
meddling with the government of any of the jurisdictions, 
which, by the third article, is preserved entirely to them- 
selves." The commissioners were further authorised "to 
settle and determine the business in question " by a vote 
of not less than six of their number, but that if that num- 
ber should not vote for the propositions offered, " then 
such propositions, with their reasons, so far as they have 
been debated, be sent and referred " to the general courts 
of the several colonies ; and if all should vote in favour of 
the propositions, that said vote should be binding upon 
the commissioners. This article further provides that the 



224 THE BAY COLONY. 

commissioners should meet annually, " besides extraordi- 
nary meetings, according to the 5th article," on the first 
Thursday of September ; that the next, the second meet- 
ing, be held at Boston, the third at Hartford, the fourth 
at New Haven, the fifth at Plymouth, and the sixth and 
seventh at Boston, "and so in course, successively," unless 
some central place can be agreed on for the meetings. 

The seventh provides that at each meeting of the com- 
missioners a president from their number should be chosen 
by a vote of at least six members, whose duty should be 
" to take care and direct for order and a comely carrying 
on of all proceedings in their present meeting, but he 
shall be invested with no such power or respect, as by 
which he shall hinder the propounding or progress of any 
business, or any way cast the scales otherwise than in the 
preceding articles is agreed." The eighth provides that 
the commissioners, at their meetings, as they have oppor- 
tunity, should " endeavour to frame and establish agree- 
ments and orders in general cases of a civil nature, wherein 
all the plantations are interested, for preserving peace 
amongst themselves, and preventing, as much as may be, 
all occasions of war or differences with others, as about 
free and speedy passage of justice in each jurisdiction to 
all the confederates equally, as to their own, receiving those 
that remove from one plantation to another without due 
certificates," and how each plantation should deal with the 
Indians. It was " also agreed that if any servant run away 
from his master into any one of these confederate juris- 
dictions, that in such case, upon certificate of one magis- 



THE CONFEDERATION. 225 

trate in the jurisdiction out of which the said servant fled, 
or upon other due proof, the said servant shall be delivered 
either to his master or any other that pursues and brings 
such certificate for proof. And that upon the escape of 
any prisoner or fugitive for any criminal cause, whether 
breaking prison or getting from the officer, or otherwise 
escaping, upon the certificate of two magistrates of the 
jurisdiction out of which the escape is made, that he was 
a prisoner or such an offender at the time of the escape, 
the magistrate, or some of them of the jurisdiction where 
for the present the said prisoner or fugitive abideth, shall 
forthwith grant such a warrant as the case will bear, for 
the apprehending of any such person and the delivery of 
him into the hand of the officer or other person who pur- 
sueth him ; and if there be help required for the safe re- 
turning of any such offender, then it shall be granted unto 
him that craves the same, he paying the charges thereof." 
The ninth declares, "And for that the justest wars may 
be of dangerous consequence, especially to the smaller 
plantations in these united colonies," and provides that 
neither colony, nor any of the members of them, should 
engage in any war, except in the sudden emergencies 
provided for, without the consent of the commissioners, 
"and that no charge be required of any of the confeder- 
ates, in case of a defensive war, till the said commission- 
ers have met and approved the justice of the war, and 
have agreed upon the sum of money to be levied, which 
sum is then to be paid by the several confederates in pro- 
portion, according to the 4th article." 



226 THE BAY COLONY. 

The tenth provides that when meetings of the commis- 
sioners shall be called by magistrates as provided in the 
fifth article, and the whole number does not convene, that 
then four members shall have power to direct a war which 
could not be delayed, and to send for men from each 
colony ; but that " not less than six should determine the 
justice of the war, or allow the demands or bills of 
charges, or cause any levies to be made for the same." 

The eleventh provides that if either colony break any 
of the articles or does anything injurious to any other 
colony it should be dealt with by the commissioners of the 
other colonies, " that both peace and this present confed- 
eration may be entirely preserved without violation." 

The twelfth recites the adoption of the articles by the 
Legislatures of the several colonies.* 

These articles served as a model for the " Articles of 
Confederation," adopted by the colonies in 1781 ; and to 
them may be traced many important provisions in the 
constitution of the United States. 

The provision in the constitution that all powers not 
delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor pro- 
hibited by it to the States, respectively, or to the people, are 
reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people, — that 
taxes be apportioned on the basis of population ; that 
the Senate of the United States, representing the States, 
be composed of two members from each State chosen by 
the legislature thereof ; that Congress assemble at least 
once in every year ; that it have power to declare war, to 

* Winthrop, II., 101-106. 



THE CONFEDERATION. 22'J 

call forth the militia to repel invasions and to make rules 
concerning captures ; that no State shall enter into any 
agreement with another State or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war unless actually invaded, or in such imminent 
danger as will not admit of delay ; that the citizens of 
each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immu- 
nities of citizens in the several States ; that any person 
charged in any State with crime, who shall flee and be 
found in another State, shall be delivered up on the 
demand of the executive authority of the State from which 
he fled ; that any person held to service or labour in one 
State, escaping into another, shall be delivered up on claim 
of the party to whom such service or labour may be due ; 
that no new State be formed within the jurisdiction of an 
existing State, nor any union of two or more States be 
made without the consent of Congress, — are taken, some 
nearly literally, from these articles. 

The Confederacy was established without any authority 
from the king or Parliament, and in the articles no men- 
tion is made of either. In its establishment the several 
colonies exercised the highest powers of sovereign and 
independent States. They confederated under the name 
of the "United Colonies of New England," and declared 
the union to be perpetual. The contest between the king 
and Parliament might afford a reason why the act passed 
unnoticed at the time, yet the confederation was continued 
with some change under the Long Parliament, Cromwell 
and Charles II., until the forfeiture of the colony charter. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SAMUEL GORTON. 

ONE of the questions presented to the Federal Com- 
missioners at their first meeting was in regard to 
the course being pursued by Massachusetts toward one 
Samuel Gorton and his associates. Gorton arrived at 
Boston pending the controversy with Mrs. Hutchinson, 
but soon removed to Plymouth. He styled himself " Pro- 
fessor of the mysteries of Christ," and claimed the right, 
without ordination, to preach and prophesy, and wherever 
he went was a disturber of the peace of the churches and 
of the community. In a short time he was driven out of 
Plymouth and went to Aquedneck, where he soon caused 
division among the followers of Mrs. Hutchinson, some of 
whom removed from Portsmouth to Newport. He defied 
the authorities and made such disturbance in Portsmouth 
that he was whipped and banished from the settlement, 
when he went to Patuxet, over which Providence exercised 
jurisdiction. He soon made himself intolerable to the 
people there, and, in the words of Roger Williams, 
" having abused high and low at Aquedneck, bewitching 
and madding poor Providence." * After residing in Pa- 
tuxet about one year, until the autumn of 1641, some 

* Hypocrisy unmasked, 55. 

22S 



SAMUEL GORTON. 229 

of the principal inhabitants petitioned Massachusetts for 
assistance against him. Massachusetts decHned to take 
action unless the inhabitants would place themselves 
under its jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of Plymouth, 
Some twelve months after, William Arnold and three 
others, probably as the representatives of the inhabitants, 
offered to submit to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. 
The offer was accepted by Massachusetts, and Arnold 
and the three other persons were authorised to keep the 
peace in the territory and promised support against 
Gorton. At the same time notice of the submission was 
given to Gorton, and he and his associates were summoned 
to appear at Boston to make good their claim to the lands 
they occupied. To this a defiant reply was made, and, 
without waiting for further proceedings, Gorton removed 
to Shawomet, now Warwick, and made a purchase of its 
territory from Miantonomo, sachem of the Narragansetts, 
which was ratified by Saconoco and Pomham, two chiefs 
who claimed ownership of the land. The next summer 
these chiefs applied to Massachusetts for redress, denying 
the validity of the sale upon the ground of duress on the 
part of Miantonomo, and offered to submit to the jurisdic- 
tion of Massachusetts, whereupon, the General Court 
informed Gorton and his company by letter of the com- 
plaint and offer of the chiefs, and notified them if they had 
anything to say against it that they come or send to the 
next General Court. They also gave the same information 
and notice to Miantonomo, who appeared at the next Gen- 
eral Court, where, upon being interrogated, he could not 



230 THE BAY COLONY. 

substantiate his claim. Other testimony was also pre- 
sented which satisfied the court that the claims of the 
chiefs were just, and commissioners were appointed who 
met them and proposed terms which they accepted and 
submitted themselves and lands to the jurisdiction of 
Massachusetts. Information of this was given to Mian- 
tonomo and to the English residents on the place. Soon 
after, complaints were made by the chiefs and by the 
inhabitants of Patuxet of continual injuries offered them 
by Gorton and his company, whereupon the General Court 
sent, requesting them to appear at Boston, and answer 
to the complaints, with letters of safe conduct.* They 
refused to come, " but sent two letters full of blasphemy 
against the churches and magistracy." At this stage of 
the proceedings the subject was submitted to the Commis- 
sioners of the United Colonies then in session, who ordered 
that if Gorton and his company should "stubbornly refuse" 
to appear and answer to the complaints, " some of them 
weighty and of great consequence," that the magistrates 
of Massachusetts should proceed against them, and that 
their action would be approved by the several jurisdictions, 
provided that any claim of Plymouth to the land should 
not be prejudiced thereby. Whereupon, after repeated 
renewals of the request were made by Massachusetts to 
which no reply was returned, Gorton and his company 
were notified that, "to the end that our justice and moder- 
ation might appear to all," commissioners would be sent 
to them to hear their answers, who would be attended by 

* Mass. Records, II., 41. Winthrop, II., 137. 



SAMUEL GORTON. 23 I 

"a sufficient guard." Accordingly three commissioners 
were appointed, who proceeded to Providence with a guard 
of forty soldiers. Meanwhile, Gorton and his company 
sent their women and children into the woods and en- 
trenched themselves in a house made musket-proof ; and 
through the mediation of some Providence men proposed 
an arbitration, which was refused. The commissioners, 
with their men, entrenched themselves near the house, and 
made several ineffectual attempts to set it on fire, upon 
which Gorton and his company, excepting three men who 
had escaped, capitulated and were taken to Boston and 
there committed to prison.* The next Lord's day, under 
threat of compulsion, they agreed to attend meeting if 
they would be allowed to speak after the sermon, if they 
should desire to. They were informed that this was a 
matter for the elders, "but there was no doubt they might 
have leave to speak so as they spake the words of truth 
and sobriety." They attended, Mr. Cotton preached, and 
at the close of his sermon Gorton, upon his request, was 
granted the right to speak, whereupon he commented on 
the sermon, and among other things said, "that all our 
ordinances, ministers, sacrements, etc., were but men's 
inventions for show and pomp."f 

Upon the assembling of the General Court in October, 
1643, upon a lecture day, Gorton and his company were 
arraigned, and there before a great assembly " the gov- 
ernor declared the cause and manner of our proceeding 
against them, and their letters were openly read." For 

* Winthrop, II., 137-140. t Ibid, 143. 



232 THE BAY COLONY. 

answer they denied that they were within the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts, and that if they were under no jurisdic- 
tion the only way they could be interfered with was by 
force of arms. They were replied to, and Winthrop states 
that " as for their opinions we did not meddle with them 
for those, otherwise than they had given us occasion by 
their letters to us, and by their free and open publishing 
them amongst us, for we wrote to them only about civil 
controversies between them and our people, and gave 
them no occasion to vent their blasphemings and revilings, 
etc. And for their title to the Indians' land, we had divers 
times desired them to make it appear, but they always 
refused, even to our commissioners, whom we sent last to 
them, and since they were in prison we offered to send 
for any witnesses they would desire, but still they 
refused." They were severally interrogated whether 
they maintained what was written in the letters, and 
they replied they did, " in that sense wherein they wrote 
them." Much time was spent with them to little effect, 
when the judgment of the elders was required "about 
their blasphemous speeches and opinions, what punish- 
ment was due by the word of God. Their answer was 
first in writing, that if they should maintain them as 
expressed in their writings, their offence deserved death 
by the law of God." The court then prepared the charge 
against them, which was that they were " blasphemous 
enemies of the true religion of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and of all His holy ordinances, and likewise of all civil 
government among His people, and particularly within 



SAMUEL GORTON. 233 

this jurisdiction." "After divers means had been used 
both in public and in private to reclaim them, and all 
proving fruitless," the court considered their sentence. 
All the magistrates but three were of the opinion that 
the offence deserved death, but a majority of the deputies 
dissented. Finally, all agreed, as to seven of them, that 
they should severally be sent to different towns and kept 
at work, each with irons upon one leg, and that they should 
not, by word or writing, " maintain any of their blasphe- 
mous or wicked errors upon pain of death." This sentence 
to continue during the pleasure of the court. They were 
accordingly sent, one to each of seven towns. Three 
others were discharged, two of them upon a small ran- 
som, and a fourth one was enjoined to abide in Watertown, 
"upon pain of the court's displeasure only." Soon after 
the sentence, men were sent to Shawomet to take cattle 
to defray the cost of the proceedings. Notwithstanding 
the order of the court, those sentenced propagated their 
heresies in the towns to which they were committed, and 
at the next session of the General Court, in March, 1644, 
they were liberated, conditioned upon their departure out 
of the jurisdiction of Massachusetts within fourteen days.* 
They went to Aquedneck, where they remained without 
further disturbance. 

* Winthrop, II., 143-146. Hutchinson, I., 112-117. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

DE LA TOUR AND d' AULNAY. 

A NOTHER question came before the Confederate 
-^^- commissioners at their second meeting, in Septem- 
ber, 1644, arising out of the conduct of Massachusetts 
toward De La Tour, who claimed to be governor of Acadia. 

By the treaty of St. Germaine in 1632, England con- 
ceded to France the title to Acadia. At that time, and 
until his death in 1635, Razilly had command of the prov- 
ince, with D' Aulnay for lieutenant of all the territory west 
of the St. Croix River, and De La Tour of all east of it. 
During his administration, and a short time before his 
death, he seized the trading house and goods of the 
Plymouth people on the Penobscot, upon the claim that 
his jurisdiction extended to that river. Upon the death 
of Razilly both his lieutenants claimed control of all 
Acadia. D' Aulnay had his principal fort and trading 
post on the Penobscot, and De La Tour his on the St. 
John's. As the principal object of both was trade with 
the Indians, there was a constant conflict of interests and 
occasional war between them. In November, 1641, De 
La Tour sent a messenger to Boston, proposing liberty 
of free commerce, and requesting assistance against 

234 



DE LA TOUR AND D' AULNAY. 2$$ 

D' Aulnay, and authority to make returns from England 
through our merchants. The offer of free trade was 
accepted, but the governor and council declined to make 
any treaty, as the messenger had no written authority 
from De La Tour. The messenger " was courteously 
entertained here," and after a few days departed. * 

In October of the next year, 1642, De La Tour sent 
his lieutenant with fourteen men in a shallop to Boston, 
again requesting aid against D'Aulnay, and renewing the 
proposal for free trade, but no assurance of assistance was 
made.f Upon their return, some merchants of Boston 
sent a pinnace to St. Johns with agents to trade with De 
La Tour. The voyage was a prosperous one, and they 
brought; back letters to the governor from De La Tour, 
in which he made a full statement of his side of the con- 
troversy with D'Aulnay. On their way back they met 
D'Aulnay at Pemaquid, who also wrote a letter to the 
governor in which he threatened to make prize of any 
vessels that should be sent to his rival, and sent to him 
a copy of a warrant which had come from France for the 
arrest of De La Tour. J In June of the next year, 1643, 
De La Tour came to Boston in a ship with one hundred 
and forty persons. He informed the governor that the 
ship arriving from France with supplies for his fort was 
prevented from reaching it by D'Aulnay, who had block- 
aded the passage to it, and requested aid to raise the 
blockade. He stated that his conduct had been satisfac- 
torily explained to the officers of the French Government, 

* Winthrop, II., 42, 43. f Ibid, 88. t Ibid, 91. 



236 THE BAY COLONY. 

and he exhibited written authority under the hands of the 
proper officers in France for the ship to take supplies to 
him at St. Johns. In the order he was styled His 
Majesty's Lieutenant-General of Acadia. 

The governor called together such of the magistrates 
and deputies as were in and near Boston, and laid 
the request before them. But they understanding that 
they could not comply with his request without authority 
from the Confederate commissioners, yet decided that 
they could, and they did, give their consent that he 
might hire vessels and employ such men as should vol- 
unteer for his purpose.* " But the rumour of these 
things soon spreading through the country were diversely 
apprehended, not only by the common sort, but also by 
the elders, whereof some in their sermons spoke against 
their entertainment and the aid permitted them, others 
spake in justification of both." The masters and men 
in the ships also desired advice regarding the proceedings, 
" whereupon the governor appointed another meeting to 
which all the near magistrates and deputies and the 
elders also were called, and there the matter was de- 
bated," etc. f 

On the one side it was claimed that De La Tour, " being 
in urgent distress, and therefore as our neighbour to be 
relieved," and that as D'Aulnay was a "dangerous neigh- 
bour to us, if he have none to oppose him or to keep him 
employed at home, he will certainly be dealing with us." 
It was contended on the other side that it was unlawful 

* Winthrop, II., 107, 108. t Ibid, 109. 



DE LA TOUR AND D' AULNAY. 237 

for Christians to aid idolaters ; that " by aiding papists we 
advance and strengthen popery ; that we had only exam- 
ined the matter of the controversy between De La Tour 
and D'Aulnay, ex parte ; that we may provoke the State 
of France against us, or at least D'Aulnay, and so be 
brought into another war," and that such aid should 
not be permitted without the advice of the General Court. 
The result was that the decision of the first meeting was 
reaffirmed,* and on the fifteenth day of July, De La 
Tour set sail with four ships and a pinnace and seventy 
volunteers hired for two months. The larger ship carried 
sixteen pieces of ordnance. f A letter was written by the 
governor to D'Aulnay in reply to the one received from 
him and sent by the expedition, in which the reasons for 
aiding De La Tour were given, which letter was to be 
delivered before the commencement of hostilities. In the 
letter the governor stated that the men permitted to go 
were instructed " to labour by all means to bring matters 
to a reconciliation, and that they should be assured that, 
if they should do or attempt anything against the rules of 
justice and good neighbourhood, they must be accountable 
therefor unto us at their return." % 

When the ships were discovered by D'Aulnay he set 
sail with his vessels, consisting of two ships and a pinnace. 
De La Tour pursued him to Port Royal, where he found 
that D'Aulnay had run his ships aground and was fortify- 
ing himself on shore. Whereupon a messenger was sent 
to D'Aulnay with the governor's letter and a letter from 

* Winthrop, II., 109-115. t Ibid, 127. \ Ibid, 125. 



238 THE BAY COLONY. 

Captain Hawkins, who commanded the expedition. D'Aul- 
nay replied to the letters, " but refused to come to any 
terms of peace." De La Tour then urged our men to 
attack him, which they refused to do. He then requested 
that some of the Massachusetts men be landed with his 
to destroy some of the property of D'Aulnay. Hawkins 
would not send any, but gave leave for any that desired to, 
to go. Whereupon some thirty volunteered, who, with 
De La Tour's men, landed and marched to D'Aulnay's 
mill, which they found to be fortified ; made an attack 
upon it, drove out the enemy, killed three men, with no 
loss of life in the attacking party. They then burned the 
mill, and some standing corn, and returned to their ships, 
with one prisoner they captured in the mill. They then 
sailed to De La Tour's fort, where they remained until 
their time expired, in the meantime capturing a pinnace, 
with moose and beaver skins, which belonged to D'Aulnay, 
which came to the river, supposing it was occupied by him. 
They all returned safe, but Winthrop says " t?ie report of 
their actions was offensive and grievous to us."* 

In July, 1644, De La Tour came to Salem to again 
request aid against D'Aulnay, which was refused, and the 
governor and council issued an order, commanding a strict 
neutrality. In September, the Massachusetts commis- 
sioners called the attention of the Confederate commis- 
sioners to the dealings of their colony with De La Tour ; 
stated fully what had been done and the explanations and 
offers that had been made to D'Aulnay, and desired the 

* Winthrop, II., 134, 135. 



DE LA TOUR AND D' AULNAY. 239 

advice of the commissioners upon the course to be pur- 
sued in the future. They gave their opinion that sufficient 
explanations and offers had been made to D'Aulnay, and 
resolved that if he persisted in his refusal to treat with 
Massachusetts, and seized any vessels belonging to either 
colony, or made any other hostile demonstration, then that 
Massachusetts might seize any vessel of his "to recover 
their losses," and that if its General Court should become 
satisfied that D'Aulnay was so determined upon war " that 
peace and neighbourly correspondence cannot be had on 
any equal terms," then that its General Court might treat 
with De La Tour, and purchase, for the United Colonies, 
all his right and title to the fort and lands on St. John's 
River ; and, if he should decline to sell, then that the best 
measures should be taken to secure the fort, that it should 
not fall into the hands of D'Aulnay. 

Within a month after the meeting of the commissioners 
an embassy from D'Aulnay arrived at Salem, and, after a 
full consideration of the relations of the parties, a pro- 
visional treaty of peace and free trade was concluded, and, 
in 1646, all matters in dispute between them were ami- 
cably settled.* Meanwhile, in 1642, D'Aulnay made an 
attack upon De La Tour, captured and destroyed his set- 
tlement, and took his wife prisoner, who died within a few 
weeks. Four years after, D'Aulnay died, and De La 
Tour married his widow, which settled all disputes in re- 
gard to his claims. 

* Winthrop, II., 274. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE ASSISTANTS AND THE 

DEPUTIES. DISAFFECTION IN ESSEX COUNTY. 

TROUBLE IN HINGHAM. 

'nr^HE mode of elections, requiring voters from all parts 
-*- of the colony to meet in one place for election of 
magistrates, caused great inconvenience ; and in March, 
1636, it was ordered by the General Court that at the en- 
suing May election the towns of Ipswich, Newbury, Salem, 
Saugus, Weymouth, and Hingham should " have liberty 
to stay so many of their freemen at home, for the safety 
of their Town, as they judge needful, and that the said 
freemen that are appointed by the town to stay at home 
shall have liberty for this Court to send their voices by 
proxy."* March, 1637, it was ordered that for the future 
all freemen might send their votes by proxy in the follow- 
ing manner : that the deputies, after their election, should 
call a meeting of the voters of their respective towns, and 
take the votes of such as should desire to vote by proxy 
" for every magistrate," write the names of the magistrates 
voted for on the " back side " of each vote, seal them up 
and take them to the General Court, with an open list of 
the names of such voters, f 

*Mass. Records, I., i66. t Ibid, 188. 

240 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 24 1- 

In May, 1640, it was ordered that the deputies of the 
several towns at the meetings at which they are elected 
should call for nominations for magistrates, record the 
names of those nominated, and the number of votes for 
each, and make return of the same to the next General 
Court, and that the assistants and deputies should count 
the votes from the several towns and ascertain what per- 
sons had the highest number of votes, to the full number 
of assistants, and that the deputies should inform their 
townsmen of the names of those having the highest num- 
ber of votes as above, that they might consider them until 
the day of election, " to choose or refuse as they shall see 
good;" but that none should be voted for at the election 
" for new magistrates, but such as shall come to nomina- 
tion in the order aforesaid." * In June, 1641, the Genera) 
Court proposed for the consideration of the people, that in 
the several towns one-tenth in number of the freemen be 
elected to represent and vote for them all at the court of 
elections, and the deputies were instructed to report at the 
next session the views of their constituents upon the prop- 
osition,! but no report was made. 

In June, 1642, it was ordered that the several towns 
choose each one or more representatives to meet at Salem 
on "the first fourth day of the second month next," and 
" consider and agree upon a certain number of the most 
able and fit men in this jurisdiction to be put to nomina- 
tion for magistrates at the next Court of Elections," and 
certify their names to the secretary of the colony, and that 

* Mass. Records, I., 293. t Ibid, -^t^t^. 



242 THE BAY COLONY. 

the names of none others than those nominated should be 
"put to vote" at the election.* In May, 1643, it was 
ordered that the order passed in May, 1640, be revived, 
with some explanations.! In November, 1644, it was 
ordered that the freemen in the several towns should meet 
within two months from the passage of the order and vote 
for seven new magistrates ; that the votes be sealed up at 
the meeting and taken by a committee from each town to 
the shire-town of the county " upon the last fifth day of the 
last month," that the committee of the several towns 
being thus assembled should seal up in one package the 
votes of all the towns without opening them, and send 
them by a committee of their number to a meeting of the 
magistrates at Boston, "on the last third day of the first 
month," at which meeting they should be opened and the 
votes counted, and " those persons nominated for magis- 
trates that have most votes to the number of seven, shall 
be they that shall be put to vote at the day of election, and 
that such as have most votes, to be first nominated and 
put to election, that the freemen may know for whom to 
send in their proxies," that the committees present from 
the several counties should give information of the result 
to the committees of every town in their county, who 
should call meetings of their voters and impart to them the 
information, that they might have time to consider of the 
candidates and " send in their proxies accordingly, and no 
other shall be put to vote but such as are agreed upon, as 
before." \ 

* Mass. Records, II., 221. t Ibid, 37. J Ibid, 87. 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 243 

In March, 1639, it was voted that whereas hitherto some 
towns had elected three deputies, that thereafter each town 
be limited to two deputies. This was regarded as a move- 
ment on the part of the assistants to curtail the power of 
the deputies.* In November, 1644, it was proposed with 
a view to remove the jealousies between the assistants and 
deputies, that the trial should be made for one year of 
limiting the number of deputies to the number of assist- 
ants, and to this end that the counties and not the towns 
should be the basis of representation, the votes to be given 
in the several towns and taken, sealed, to the shire-town, 
at a time appointed, where they should be counted in the 
presence of a magistrate ; and as many, to the number pre- 
scribed, as had the most votes should be declared chosen. 
The number was limited to twenty, six from Suffolk, six 
from Middlesex and eight from Essex and Norfolk, " being 
joined in one." It was further provided, that as the assist- 
ants varied in number, not to exceed eighteen in all, that 
the deputies thus chosen should meet at the General 
Court and there have their number reduced to the num- 
ber of assistants for the time being, by selecting those 
having the highest number of votes to the number re- 
quired ; and, during the continuance of the order, "to have 
the use of the negative vote forborne both by magistrates 
and deputies." f The scheme was not approved by the 
people, and was abandoned. 

But the disputes between the assistants and the depu- 
ties regarding the negative vote were in process of settle- 
* Mass. Records, I., 254. t Mass. Records, II., 88, 89. 



244 THE BAY COLONY. 

ment through singular means. In 1636, one Captain 
Keayne found a stray hog which he put into a pen with a 
hog of his own. He had it cried several times, but no 
one appeared to claim it. Nearly a year after he killed 
one of the hogs, when, for the first time, a woman named 
Sherman, who had lost such a hog, made claim that the 
astray was hers. Not finding the marks on the live hog 
by which she had stated she could identify it, she declared 
that the one killed was hers. This caused much excite- 
ment in the community, and the matter was brought 
before the elders, who, after an examination of many wit- 
nesses, decided in favour of Keayne. Not satisfied with 
this, Sherman brought an action against Keayne in the 
Quarter Court of Boston. Upon a trial the jury found 
for Keayne with costs assessed at three pounds. Keayne 
then sued Sherman and one Story, her adviser, for slander, 
in reporting that he had stolen Sherman's hog and recov- 
ered twenty pounds damages against both. Some time 
after. Story produced in the court at Salem one of the 
witnesses for Keayne upon the trial, who confessed that 
in his testimony he committed perjury, and upon the 
strength of this he petitioned the General Court in the 
name of Sherman for a new trial in that court, which was 
granted. This was in 1642. Nearly seven days were 
occupied "with much contention and earnestness" in the 
trial, and the court stood seventeen members, two magis- 
trates and fifteen deputies, for Sherman, and fifteen, seven 
magistrates and eight deputies, for Keayne, and seven 
deputies "stood doubtful." 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 245 

According to Winthrop the case "was not determined," 
as " no sentence could by law pass without the greatest 
number of both (magistrates and deputies), which neither 
plaintiff nor defendant had." This raised again the ques- 
tion whether the General Court was to act by the aggre- 
gate or the concurrent vote of the magistrates and 
deputies, or, as the people understood it, whether the 
magistrates being fewer in number than the deputies, 
could negative or veto the acts of a majority of the court, 
as, if they were to act together as one body, Sherman won 
the case by a majority of two, but if no decision could be 
reached without the vote of the magistrates as a separate 
body, then Keayne prevailed, as a majority of that body 
voted in his favour. The popular feeling was strong 
against Keayne, largely from the fact that he was "of 
ill report in the country for a hard dealer in his course of 
trading," and there was much disappointment among the 
people at the result, which " gave occasion to many to 
speak irreverently of the Court, especially of the magis- 
trates, and the report went, that their negative voice had 
hindered the course of justice, and that these magistrates 
must be put out, that the power of the negative voice 
might be taken away." 

The feeling excited was so strong that " it was thought 
fit for the governor and other of the magistrates to pub- 
lish a declaration of the true state of the cause, that truth 
might not be condemned unknown.* The next year, 1643, 
the subject was reopened. Friends of Sherman stated 

* Winthrop, II., 69-72. 



246 THE BAY COLONY. 

" a new case " to the elders, which was approved by them, 
but upon presenting it to the other side an answer was 
made which satisfied the elders, who, at a meeting of mag- 
istrates, elders and " some of the deputies " declared, that, 
notwithstanding their former opinions, yet for reasons 
which they stated, " they did not see any ground for the 
Court to proceed to judgment in the case," and expressed 
an earnest desire " that the Court might never be more 
troubled with it." To this all but Mr. Bellingham of the 
magistrates consented, and those of the deputies present 
who had voted for Sherman " seemed now to be satisfied." 
But Story was not satisfied, and preferred a petition to 
the General Court for a new hearing, which was referred 
to the committee for petitions, a majority of whom 
reported in favour of a rehearing ; but some members, 
ascertaining that Keayne had remitted the twenty pounds 
judgment, and had only collected the three pounds for 
costs, and had offered to remit that if Sherman would 
acknowledge the wrong she had done him, a motion was 
made that friends of Keayne should undertake to persuade 
him to restore the three pounds, and refer all matters 
between Story and him. " This the Court were satisfied 
with, and proceeded no further."* 

In March, 1644, "upon the motion of the deputies, it 
was ordered that the Court should be divided in their 
consultations, the magistrates by themselves, and the 
deputies by themselves, what the one agreed upon they 
should send to the other and if both agreed then to pass, 

* Winthrop, II., 115-117. 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 247 

etc. This order determined the great contention about 
the negative voice." * 

At the same session a proposition was made " for yield- 
ing some more of the freemen's privileges to such as were 
no church-members that should join in this government." 
The subject was considered and the proposition referred 
to the next General Court ; and it was ordered that, in the 
meantime, letters should be written to the other colonies 
to advise with them about it. But Winthrop says " noth- 
ing was effected for want of opportunity of meeting, etc."f 

Winthrop in the strife upon the negative voice had 
shown much feeling, and published a paper defending the 
position taken by the magistrates, which gave offence to 
those of the other side, and he was requested by the 
elders to make some explanation which would appease 
them, which he expressed an entire willingness to do, and 
as soon as he came into the General Court, he made a 
speech in which he said that in the matter of his paper he 
did not desire to make any retraction ; but that as to the 
manner of it, he added, " that which I wrote was upon 
great provocation by some of the adverse party, and upon 
invitation from others to vindicate ourselves from that 
aspersion which was cast upon us, yet that was no suffi- 
cient warrant for me to break out into any distemper," 
and that in what he wrote, " I did arrogate too much to 
myself and ascribe too little to others " and " I confess it 
was now not so beseeming me, but was indeed a fruit of 
the pride of mine own spirit. These are all the Lord hath 

* Winthrop, II., 160. t Ibid, 160. 



248 THE BAY COLONY. 

brought me to consider of, wherein I acknowledge my 
faiHngs, and humbly entreat you will pardon and pass 
them by ; if you please to accept my request, your silence 
shall be a sufficient testimony thereof unto me, and I hope 
I shall be more wise and watchful hereafter."* 

The conduct of the magistrates towards La Tour, which 
in the country was assumed to be intended for the benefit 
of the merchants of Boston at the risk of a war with the 
French, and their persistency in controlling legislation 
through " the negative voice," caused great dissatisfaction, 
especially with the people of Essex County. The country 
people regarded what had been done as intended to 
centralise the powers of government in Boston, in and 
near to which most of the magistrates resided. In July, 
1643, three magistrates, Saltonstall, of Watertown, and 
Bradstreet and Symonds, of Ipswich, with Ward, who had 
been minister at Ipswich, and three ministers, Nathaniel 
Rogers and John Norton, of Ipswich, and Ezekiel Rogers, 
of Rowley, joined in a letter to Winthrop remonstrating 
against his course with La Tour, to which Winthrop made 
a spirited reply. f The dissatisfaction was so great that, 
at the annual election in May, 1644, Endicott was sub- 
stituted for Winthrop as governor, and Winthrop was 
chosen deputy governor. In the words of Winthrop, " At 
this Court there arose some trouble by this occasion. 
Those of Essex had procured at the Court before, that the 
deputies of the several shires should meet before this 

* Winthrop, II., ii8. 

flbid, II., 109. Hutchinson papers, 115, 132. 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 249 

Court to prepare business, etc., which accordingly they 
did. and propounded divers things which they agitated and 
concluded among themselves without communicating them 
to the other shires, who conceived they had been only 
such things as had concerned the Commonwealth, but 
when they came now to be put to this Court, it appeared 
that their chief intent was to advantage their own shire.* 
As I, by drawing the government thither ; 2, by drawing 
the Courts thither; 3, by drawing a good part of the 
country stock thither ; 4, by procuring four of those parts 
to be joined in commission with the magistrates. And 
for this end they had made so strong a party among the 
deputies of the smaller towns (being most of them mean 
men, and such as had small understanding in affairs of 
State), as they easily carried all these among the deputies. 
But when the two bills came to the magistrates, they, 
discerning the plot, and finding them hurtful to the 
Commonwealth, refused to pass them, and a committee of 
both being appointed to consider the reasons of both 
sides, those of the magistrates prevailed."! 

* In May, 1643, by an order of the General Court, " the whole planta- 
tion within this jurisdiction " was divided into four shires, as follows : 

Essex. — Salem, Linn, Enon (Wenham), Ipswich, Rowley, Newberry, 
Glocester, Cochichawick (Andover). 

Middlesex. — Charlestowne, Cambridge, Watertowne, Sudberry, Con- 
cord, Wooborne, Meadford, Linn Village (Reading). 

Norfolk. — Salsberry, Hampton, Haverill, Exceter, Dover, Strawberry 
Banck (Portsmouth). 

Suffolk.— Boston, Roxberry, Dorchester, Dedham, Braintree, Way- 
mouth, Hingham, Nantaskot. 

\ Winthrop, II., 167. 



250 THE BAY COLONY. 

The deputies also passed an order for a commission to 
consist of seven magistrates, three deputies, with Mr. 
Ward, "to order all affairs of the Commonwealth in the 
vacancy of the General Court." The magistrates non 
concurred on the order. Committees of the two branches 
met ; the subject was discussed, and modifications of the 
order proposed, which were not accepted by the magis- 
trates. It was then proposed that the magistrates 
<' would consent that nothing might be done till the court 
met again," which was to be on the 28th day of October. 
To this was answered that, if occasion required, they (the 
magistrates), must act according to the power and trust 
committed to them, to which their speaker replied, " You 
will not be obeyed."* According to Winthrop, the 
deputies committed "another great error," by "choosing 
one of the younger magistrates (though a very able man), 
Mr. Bradstreet, and one of the deputies, Mr. Hathorne 
(the principal man in all these agitations), a young man 
also, to be commissioners of the United Colonies ; both 
eastern men, quite out of the way of opportunity of cor- 
respondency, with the other confederates." 

The strife between the magistrates and the deputies 
continued. An extra session of the General Court was 
held on June 28. The governor of Plymouth applied for 
powder, of which the colony was in great need. The 
-magistrates voted to supply them with two barrels, but 
the deputies refused consent. After the adjournment of 
the court, the people of Rhode Island being in great 

* Winthrop, II., 167-169. 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 25 I 

fear of the Indians, applied for some powder and other 
ammunition, but the magistrates declined to furnish them, 
as the deputies had refused to grant the same favour to 
Plymouth, a confederate colony.* "The General Court 
assembled again (in October), and all the elders were sent 
for to reconcile the differences between the magistrates 
and deputies." 

Many questions were submitted to the elders, to which 
reference has been heretofore made. But the most im- 
portant one for the time, was, " whether the magistrates 
are by patent and election of the people, the standing 
council of this Commonwealth in the vacancy of the Gen- 
eral Court, and have power accordingly to act in all cases 
subject to government, according to the said patent and 
laws of this jurisdiction." After consultation, the elders 
replied in writing through Mr. Cotton. "Their answer 
was affirmative on the magistrates, behalf in the very 
words of the question, with some reasons thereof."! This 
was accepted by a vote of the court, and " most of the 
deputies were now well satisfied concerning the authority 
of the magistrates, etc." % 

For the first ten years, the assistants appointed the 
preacher of the election sermon, but, in 1642, "some of 
the freemen, without the consent of the magistrates or 
governor, had chosen Mr. Nathaniel Ward to preach at 
this court, pretending it was a part of their liberty. The 
governor (whose right indeed it is, for till the court be 
assembled, the freemen are but private persons), would 

* Winthrop, II., 171, 172. f Ibid, 204. J Ibid, 209. 



252 THE BAY COLONY. 

not Strive about it, for though it did not belong to them, 
yet if they would have it, there was reason to yield it to 
them." In the sermon, "among other things, he advised 
the people to keep all their magistrates in an equal rank," 
also that the magistrates should not give private advice.* 
In 1643, Winthrop says, "our Court of Elections was held 
when Mr. Ezekiel Rogers, pastor of the church in Rowley, 
preached. He was called to it by a company of freemen 
whereof the most were deputies chosen for the court, 
appointed, by the order of the last court, to meet at 
Salem about the nomination of some to be put to the vote 
for the new magistrates." Mr. Rogers, hearing that 
exception was taken to his election, wrote to the governor 
for advice, to which the governor replied, " he did account 
his calling not to be sufficient, yet the magistrates were 
not minded to strive with the deputies about it, but 
seeing it was noised in the country, and the people would 
expect him, and that he had advised with the magistrates 
about it, he wished him to go on." In his sermon he de- 
scribed the qualifications the governor should possess and 
advised strongly against " choosing the same man twice 
together, and expressed his dislike of that with such 
vehemency as gave offence. But when it came to trial, 
the former governor, Mr. Winthrop, was chosen again, "f 
and at the October term of the General Court, in 1644, 
the deputies elected Mr. Norton, of Ipswich, to preach 
the next election sermon, of which they gave the magis- 
trates no notice, and, some two months before election day, 

* Winthrop, II., 35. t Ibid, 99. 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 253 

the governor and some of the magistrates, not knowing 
what the deputies had done, invited Mr. Norris, of Salem, 
to preach the sermon. But at a subsequent meeting, the 
magistrates concurred in the election of Mr. Norton. 
" The reason was, the unwillingness of the magistrates 
to have any fresh occasion of contestation with the 
deputies." * 

At the annual session of the General Court in May, 
1645, "fell out a troublesome business which took up 
much time." The train band in Hingham elected one 
Eames, who had been lieutenant seven or eight years, cap- 
tain, and presented his name to the standing council for 
confirmation, but before it was accomplished " the greater 
part of the town took some light occasion of offence against 
him and chose one Allen to be their captain, and presented 
him to the magistrates (in the time of the last General 
Court), to be allowed." But the magistrates, considering 
the claims of the two men, refused to confirm Allen, and 
advised that every ofificer should keep his place until the 
further order of the court. Soon after, the friends of 
Allen appointed a day for training, without the knowledge 
of Eames. But hearing of it, Eames appeared and pro- 
posed to take command, but the adverse party refused to 
follow him unless he should show some order for it. He 
stated the order of the magistrates, which was claimed 
by his opponents to be that he should resign. The 
authority of the magistrates was disputed and it was 
stated that " Mr. Allen had brought more for them from 

*\Vinthrop, II.,'2i8, 219. 



2 54 THE BAY COLONY. 

the deputies, than the lieutenant had from the magistrates." 
Finally a vote was taken and Allen was sustained. He 
then took command and was followed by about two-thirds 
of the company. The rest followed Eames, and the men 
were exercised two or three days. Eames, on the field, 
had denied that the magistrates had advised him to resign, 
" and putting (in some sort) the lie upon those who had so 
reported, was the next Lord's day called to answer it 
before the Church." After a hearing, the pastor, Mr. 
Hobart, brother of three men who took side with Allen, 
" was very forward to have excommunicated the lieutenant 
presently, but, upon some opposition it was put off to the 
next day." Whereupon Eames and some of the principal 
men of the town informed " four of the next magistrates 
of these proceedings, who forthwith met at Boston about 
it." The magistrates, of whom Deputy Governor Win- 
throp was one, after considering the case, sent a warrant 
to bring the three Hobarts, brothers of the pastor, and 
two others, to appear at Boston and give sureties for their 
appearance at the next court. The pastor, Mr. Hobart, 
came in advance of them, and was so insolent that " some 
of the magistrates told him that, were it not for respect to 
his ministry, they would commit him." The accused, upon 
their arrival, were bound over to the next court. After 
this five others were sent for by summons for speaking 
untruths of the magistrates in the church. After a hear- 
ing they were required to give a bond for their appearance, 
which they refused to do. The deputy governor reasoned 
with them and gave them time to consider it. About 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES. 255 

fourteen days after, two of them came into court, and the 
deputy governor again required them to give bond for 
their appearance, and upon their refusal, ordered them, in 
open court, to be committed. The General Court inter- 
vened between the time of their committal and the session 
of the Court of Assistants to which they were bound over, 
and a petition was presented to it, headed by Mr. Hobart 
and signed by eight other men of Hingham, asking that 
court to hear the cause. The petition was first presented 
to the deputies, who voted in favour of a hearing, and sent 
it to the magistrates for concurrence. The magistrates 
were surprised that this should be done without a confer- 
ence first, but returned answer that they were willing the 
cause should be heard, if the petitioners would name the 
magistrates intended and allege charges. The deputies 
then called upon the deputies from Hingham, who acted 
for the petitioners, to comply with the request of the 
magistrates, and they named the Deputy Governor Win- 
throp, as the man to be charged, and two of the petitioners 
undertook the prosecution. The petition was then re- 
turned to the magistrates, who were of the opinion that it 
would be prejudicial to the honour of the court to call a 
magistrate to answer for judicial acts, especially without 
any previous private examination, "yet if they would 
needs have a hearing they would join in it." Winthrop 
himself desired that this should be done, as he and the 
other magistrates suffered from the slanderous reports in 
the case, and wished that the cause might have a public 
hearing. The hearing was had in the meeting-house in 



256 THE BAY COLONY. 

Boston, in the presence of some of the elders and a great 
assembly of the people. Winthrop placed himself at the 
bar of the court and sat uncovered. 

Question was made whether he should not take his place 
as magistrate, but he replied, " that being criminally ac- 
cused he might not sit as a judge in that cause." After 
a full hearing and much dispute between the two houses, 
" they at last came to this agreement, viz. : the chief peti- 
tioners and the rest of the offenders were severally fined 
(all their fines not amounting to fifty pounds), the rest of 
the petitioners to bear equal share to fifty pounds more, 
towards the charges of the court (two of the principal 
offenders were the deputies of the town, Joshua Hobart 
and Bozone Allen ; the first was fined twenty pounds, and 
the other five pounds). Lieutenant Eames to be under ad- 
monition, the deputy governor to be legally and publicly 
acquit of all that was laid to his charge." Winthrop re- 
mained at the bar until the governor had read the decision 
of the court ; after which, at the request of the court, he 
took his place upon the bench, and made a speech, in 
which he discussed the authority of the magistrates and 
the liberties of the people. In speaking of the magistrates, 
he said : " I entreat you to consider, that when you choose 
magistrates, you take them from among yourselves, men 
subject to like passions as you are. Therefore, when you 
see infirmities in us you should reflect upon your own, and 
that would make you bear the more with us, and not be 
severe censurers of the failings of your magistrates, when 
you have continual experience of the like infirmities in 



DISPUTE BETWEEN ASSISTANTS AND DEPUTIES- 2%J 

yourselves and others. . . . But when you call one to be 
a magistrate, he cloth not profess or undertake to have 
sufficient skill for that office, nor can you furnish him 
with gifts, etc., therefore you must run the hazard of his 
skill and ability. But if he fail in faithfulness, which, by 
his oath, he is bound unto, that he must answer for." He 
then referred to liberty, the one kind natural liberty, with- 
out restraint ; the other he called civil, or federal liberty, 
and said, "This liberty is the proper end and object of 
authority, and cannot subsist without it ; and it is a liberty 
to that only which is good, just, and honest. This liberty 
you are to stand for, with the hazard (not only of your 
goods, but) of your lives, if need be. Whatsoever crosses 
this, is not authority, but a distemper thereof. This lib- 
erty is maintained and exercised in a way of subjection to 
authority ; it is of the same kind of liberty wherewith 
Christ has made us free." * 

* VVinthrop, II., 221-229. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MASSACHUSETTS CONGREGATIONALISM IN ENGLAND. 

' I ^HE Parliament known as the Long Parliament met 
^ November 3d, 1640. A majority of both houses 
believed it necessary for the preservation of the liberties 
of the people, that the powers which the king had exer- 
cised so despotically should be restricted ; and a large 
majority in the House of Commons and a considerable 
number of the peers were determined upon reform in 
ecclesiastical matters, but differed widely as to the extent 
to which it should be carried. A majority of the peers 
favoured the retention of Episcopacy, but many of this 
majority, in deference to public opinion, were willing to 
make some concessions, but none that would endanger the 
stability of the national Church. In the House of Com- 
mons were three parties. The first, composed of the 
nobility and some of the principal of the gentry, was of 
the same mind with the majority of the peers; the second 
was composed of the Presbyterians, who, next to the Eng- 
lish Church, constituted the largest ecclesiastical body. 
This party favoured the continuance of the monarch}-, 
with some limitations, with the hope that the Presbytery 
would be substituted for the English Church. The third 
was composed of those known as the Independents ; who 

25S 



MASSACHUSETTS CONGREGATIONALISM. 259 

were opposed not only to Episcopacy, but to the establish- 
ment of any intolerant church, and who favoured a radical 
reform in the powers of the monarchy, and eventually its 
abolition. 

As the Independents sprang from, and in their progress 
were strongly supported by, the Congregationalists of 
Massachusetts, their history is of great interest to the 
people of this Commonwealth. 

The Congregationalists of Massachusetts were charac- 
terised by their system of church government and by the 
discipline they adopted ; which, when explained, attracted 
large numbers, especially of the middle classes, in Eng- 
land. 

From a letter of Cradock to Endicott, to which refer- 
ence has been made, it is evident that " the manner how 
to exercise their ministry " was agreed upon by the first 
ministers, before they left England, and was approved by 
the principal men of the company. The discipline of the 
churches was gradually perfected, and Mr. Cotton, who 
came over in 1633, is said to have been very instrumental 
in the work. 

The radical changes made from the English Church, as 
especially shown in the democratic character of the church 
government, in the qualifications for church-membership, 
and in the simplicity in the modes of worship, were, for a 
time, disapproved by the body of the nonconformist 
ministers in England. 

Hutchinson says: "This year, 1637, a number of the 
Puritan ministers in England wrote to the ministers of 



26o THE BAY COLONY. 

New England informing them of reports that they had 
embraced new opinions which they disliked, formerly, and 
which they in England still judged to be groundless and 
unwarrantable, viz. : ' that a stinted form of prayer and set 
liturgy is unlawful ; that the children of godly and ap- 
proved Christians are not to be baptised until their 
parents be set members of some particular congregation ; 
that the parents themselves, though of approved piety, are 
not to be received to the Lord's supper until they be ad- 
mitted for members ; that the power of excommunication 
is in the body of the Church, though the minister should 
be of another mind ; that upon a minister's being dis- 
missed, though unjustly, from his particular congregation, 
he ceaseth to be a minister ; that one minister cannot 
perform 2. ministerial act in any but his own congregation ; 
that members of one congregation may not communicate 
in another.' They add, 'that letters from New England 
had influenced many in Old to leave their assemblies 
because of a stinted liturgy, and to absent themselves 
from the Lord's supper because such as ought to be were 
not debarred from it.' They, therefore, requested a sea- 
sonable review might be taken of the grounds and reasons 
that had swayed, and sent over, and if they were found to 
have weight, they would be ready to give the right hand 
of fellowship ; if otherwise, they would animadvert upon 
them so far as they varied from the truth, etc. The 
famous Puritan, John Dod, joined in the request. An 
answer was written by Mr. Cotton, and a more full answer 
afterwards printed. In some of the points, I suppose the 



MASSACHUSETTS CONGREGATIONALISM. 26 1 

last two, the ministers of England were misinformed. 
In some of the others, particularly those which it was 
thought most difficult to answer, in a few years after, the 
clergy in England fully concurred with their brethren in 
New England." * 

Afterwards, Baxter, who was a Presbyterian, blamed 
the Independents, "for making too light of ordination, for 
their too great strictness in the qualifications of church- 
members, for their popular form of church government, 
and their too much exploding of synods and councils."! 

Baillie, the distinguished Scotch Presbyterian writer of 
the period, in 1645, said of independency, "Master Cotton 
did take it up and transmit it from thence to Master 
Goodwin (then a leading member of the small clerical 
representation of Independents in the Westminster As- 
sembly), who did help to propagate it to sundry others in 
Old England, till now by many hands it is sown thick 
in divers parts of this kingdom." But Vane had been in 
England since his return in 1637, and Peters since 1641. 
Other ministers beside Cotton had, from the beginning, 
corresponded with their friends in England, and many 
persons from Massachusetts had visited their native coun- 
try and promulgated the doctrines of their churches. 

Palfrey, in the preface to the last edition of his admir- 
able history of New England, after stating many benefits 
which had resulted to England from the settlement here, 
adds : " But such are not the greatest benefactions for 

♦Hutchinson, I., 80. 

t Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, II., 163. 



262 THE BAY COLONY. 

which England is indebted to the community that bears 
her name. To the Puritans, the Tory Historian Hume 
ascribed the liberty of England. But the Puritans never 
struck decisively for English freedom, till Independency 
obtained the control of the Parliament and Army, in 1645, 
and it was the pens of learned ministers living in New 
England that in Old England raised Independency to the 
position of command. It was Hooker, of Connecticut, and 
Cotton and Shepard and Allen and Norton and Mather, 
of Massachusetts that organised the victories of Fairfax 
and Cromwell. In former times this relation was under- 
stood, however now forgotten. We may look for England 
in England, and find nothing but New England." . . . 
" The Scots at New Castle, to whom the king retired for 
safeguard, had a brave occasion to show faith and loyalty ; 
but they kept their wont, and sold their master as Judas 
did his to the Jews, to the race of New England, the 
Indepcnde7it salvages." These words of the Tory Bishop 
Hacket, present, with his own colouring, a specimen of 
a class of facts familiar to his contemporaries, though 
they have since slipped out of the histories." * 

*"The Congregational or Independent body began to attract attention 
upon the return of a host of emigrants from New England, with Hugh 
Peters at their head, on the opening of the Long Parliament;" and that 
" Lilburne and Burton soon declared themselves adherents of what was 
called 'The New England Way.'" — Greene's Short Hist, of the English 
People, 545- 

"Hugh Peters acted a part in the said tragedy of the times, no less con- 
spicuous to the world than fatal to himself. That singular enthusiast 
attempted, among other exploits, to write down the laws of England with 
design to open a way for the introduction of a system more suitable to the 



MASSACHUSETTS CONGREGATIONALISM. 263 

In January, 1643, the "Root and Branch" bill was 
passed through both houses of Parliament ; and in June, 
the intention expressed by both houses the preceding year, 
to undertake a reformation of the Church through an 

purpose of the Independents ; but happily without success, because the 
writer's wit was not equal to his malice. And there were then not wanting 
men, who, having marked th^ir pernicious progress, defended the English 
jurisprudence with greater powers, while they gave fruitless warning to the 
nation, that as from New England came hither independence of Churches, 
there is cause to pray that thence in time may not also come hither arbi- 
trary government in the Commonwealth." — Chalmer's Hist., I., 84. 

Peters was on the Commission for Legal Reforms of which Sir Matthew 
Hale was president. 

" For the fruits of Congregational discipline in England, they that walk 
in that way amongst you might speak far more particularly and largely than 
I here can do at such a remote distance. But if books and letters and 
reports do not too much abuse us with false intelligence, the great and 
gracious and glorious victories, whereby the Lord has wrought salvation for 
England in these late wars, have been as so many testimonies of the bless- 
ing of God upon our way. For the chiefest instruments which God hath 
delighted to use herein, have been the faith and fidelity, the courage and 
constancy of Independents." — Mr. John Cotton's reply to Baillie's " Dis- 
suader." Ed. 1648, p. 103. 

" The Congregational cause had obtained a firm footing in New Eng- 
land, and churches were there growing up and flourishing under its 
auspices. American pamphlets were imported, which disseminated the 
sentiments of the churches in that quarter. Thus the heresy which had 
been expelled from England returned with the increased strength of a 
transatlantic cultivation, and the publications of Cotton, Hooker, Norton, 
and Mather were circulated throughout England, and, during this writing 
and disputing period, produced a mighty effect." — Biography of Dr. John 
Owen by Dr. Orme. 

" The importance of the New England States was at once recognised by 
the Parliamentary Independents who made an effort to bring over their 
three most eminent ministers, John Cotton, John Davenport, and Thomas 



264 THE BAY COLONY. 

assembly of divines appointed by themselves, was carried 
into effect, and an ordinance was passed which called into 
existence the " Assembly of Divines and others " for the 
reformation of the Church. 

The ordinance provided that the Assembly should meet 
in Westminster Abbey, from which it derived its name of 
Westminster Assembly. It was purely a creation of Par- 
liament, which reserved the power to adjourn it; and it 
was to consider only such questions as Parliament should 
propose, and to assume " no jurisdiction, power, or author- 
ity, ecclesiastical or otherwise," except what was expressed 
in the ordinance. 

The assembly consisted of one hundred and twenty-one 
English ministers, with ten members of the House of 
Lords, twenty of the Commons, and four ministers and 
two laymen of the Scottish kirk. A large majority of the 
Assembly were Presbyterians, and only eight or ten min- 
isters classed as Independents. But of these, Palfrey 
says, " five, at least, Philip Nye, Thomas Goodwin, William 
Bridge, Sidrach Simpson, and Jeremiah Burrows were men 
of undisputed ability." * 

Say and Sele, of the House of Lords, and Oliver Crom- 
well, Vane, P'iennes, St. John, Seldon, and Whitelock, of 

Hooker. The effort failed, but in place of the men, books and pamphlets, 
expository and defensive of the ' Xew England way,' were discharged in 
quick succession upon the English public. What gave New England its 
importance was this — it was the first realisation on a large scale of the 
principles of Independency." — Encyclopedia Brittanica, under title, " In- 
dependents." 

* Palfrey, II., 86. 




Oliver Cromwell. 



MASS A CHUSE TTS CONGKE GA TIONALISM. 265 

the Commons, friends of the Independents, were members 
representing the ParHament. Palfrey, referring to the 
Assembly, says, "And if in that council, which was 
expected to give ecclesiastical unity and stability to the 
British realm, Scotland gave being, or contributed great 
force to what was at first the controlling element, to New 
England may not without reason be traced that other 
influence which in a short time rose to irresistible 
ascendency." * 

The strongest religious enthusiasts were the Independ- 
ents, and the numerous sectaries that had sprung up in 
all parts of the kingdom when freed from the restraints 
of the national Church. However much they disagreed in 
other matters, they were all of one mind, and thoroughly 
determined against any national Church, whether it be 
Episcopal or Presbyterian. These classes were strongest 
in the eastern counties, and it was there Cromwell made 
his appeal for enlistments, which was met with an enthu- 
siastic response. He made no discrimination in sects in 
enlisting his men, and appointed as officers those he 
deemed most capable and enthusiastic in the service, 
without regard to their rank or station. 

Greene, in his short " History of the English People," 
p. 546, says, " His enlistment of these ' sectaries ' was 
the first direct breach in the old system of conformity." 
It alarmed the Presbyterians, who were beginning to feel 
the growing strength of the Independents. In reply to 
remonstrances against his conduct, Cromwell said, "The 

* Palfrey, II., 81, 82. 



266 THE BAY COLONY. 

State, in choosing men to serve it, takes no notice of their 
opinions. If they be willing faithfully to serve it, that 
satisfies ; " and to complaints of the character of the offi- 
cers he had selected, he said, " I had rather have a 
plain, russet -coated captain, that knows what he fights for, 
and loves what he knows, than what you call a gentleman, 
and is nothing else." 

In the meantime, the Independents had so increased 
that they constituted a majority of the army, and were 
able, in Parliament, with the assistance of the more liberal 
of the English Presbyterians, to impose a check upon the 
extreme measures proposed by the Scotch Commissioners. 

Baillie, in the latter part of 1643, said, "The Independ- 
ents have so managed their affairs that of the officers and 
soldiers in Manchester's army, certainly also in the gen- 
eral's, and, as I hear, in Waller's likewise, more than two 
parts are for them ; and these of the far most resolute 
and confident men for the Parliament party." In 1644, 
he said, " The Independent parties, albeit their number 
in Parliament be very small, yet being prime men, active 
and diligent, and making it their work to retard all till 
they be first secured of a toleration for their separate con- 
gregations ; and the body of the lawyers, who are another 
strong party in the House, believing all church govern- 
ment to be part of the civil and parliamentary power, 
which nature and scripture had placed in them, and to be 
derived from them to the ministers, so far as they think 
expedient ; a third party of worldly, profane men, who 
are extremely affrighted to come under the yoke of eccle- 



MASSACHUSETTS CONGREGATIOXALISM. 26/ 

siastical discipline ; these three kinds, making up two parts 
of the Parliament at least, there is no 'hope that ever they 
will settle the government according to our mind, if they 
be left to themselves.* 

" The truth was that outside of the city and of the 
assembly there were few who desired to see erected all 
over England the presbyteries and synods, in which Baillie 
considered true religion alone could be found. Least of 
all was Parliament going to surrender to the ministers the 
power over church government which it had wrested from 
the hands of Laud. If it had to choose between the two, 
it would prefer the license of Independency to the unyield- 
ing yoke of Presbyterianism, but for the present it hoped 
to be able to steer a middle course between the two — to 
satisfy the Scotch by adopting the Presbyterian forms, but 
retaining the discipline in its own hands, to exercise it for 
the suppression of fanatics without interfering with the 
sober Independents." f 

The Independent Congregationalists of Massachusetts 
had watched with intense interest the progress of events. 
If an intolerant Presbyterian Church should be fastened 
upon England, they had great cause for fear that attempts 
would be made to enforce its discipline here. 

Meanwhile the Massachusetts ministers bestirred them- 
selves. Their hope was in the success of the English 
Independents. A short time after the meeting of the 
Long Parliament the Court of Assistants advised with 

* Baillie, II., 361. 

t Wakeman; The Church and the Puritans, 157. 



268 THE BA V COLONY. 

some of the elders " about some course to serve the provi- 
dence of God in furthering the work of reformation there 
(in England), which was now like to be attempted ;" * and 
in June, 1641, the General Court "thought fit to send 
some chosen men into England," to, among other things, 
" be ready to make use of any opportunity God should 
offer for the good of the country here, as also to give any 
advice, as it should be required for the settling the right 
form of discipline there." f 

Hugh Peters of the church of Salem, Thomas Weld of 
the church of Roxbury, with Mr. Hibbens of Boston, were 
"the persons designated hereto." f There is much evi- 
dence to show that it was intended that Peters and Weld 
should remain permanently in England to render aid to 
the cause of the Independents. The church of Roxbury 
hesitated giving its consent and the church of Salem was 
very unwilling to spare Mr. Peters. § Chalmers, always 
inimical to the government and churches of Massachu- 
setts, wrote in 1782, that "the object of their mission at 
that critical juncture is now known to have been to pro- 
mote the interest of reformation by stirring up the war 
and driving it on."|| 

No men better fitted for such a work could have been 
selected than Peters and Weld. But little is known of 
the work of Weld, but from his determination and zeal in 
the cause as shown here, especially upon the trial of Mrs. 
Hutchinson, there is no doubt but he was actively engaged 

* Winthrop, II., 25. \ Ibid, 25. || Chalmers, 84. 

\ Ibid, 31. § Ibid, 25, 26. 



MASSACHUSETTS CONGREGATIOXALISM. 269 

in promoting the cause for which he was commissioned. 
Peters preached with fiery zeal to large audiences. During 
the war he acted as private secretary to Cromwell, and 
was employed by him in many important missions, and is 
said to have at one time led, successfully, a brigade. 

But the ministers in Massachusetts were doing their 
part. In 1640, Shepard and Allen, of Massachusetts, 
wrote a book defending the positions of the New England 
clergy. Cotton wrote an elaborate treatise, entitled " The 
Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Power thereof, 
according to the Word of God," and afterwards a larger 
work, entitled " The Way of the Churches of Christ in 
New England, or the Way of Churches walking in Broth- 
erly Equality or coordination without subjection of one 
Church to another, measured and examined by the Golden 
Reed of the Sanctuary." These were published in Lon- 
don. An elaborate reply was immediately written by a 
Presbyterian. Rutherford, one of the Scotch Commis- 
sioners, also made a reply, entitled " The Due Right of 
Presbyteries. . . . Wherein is examined the Way of the 
Church of Christ in New England." This was replied to 
by Mr. Hooker. Herle, the prolocutor of the Assembly, 
wrote a treatise on the Presbyterian side which was 
answered by Richard Mather, of Dorchester, who also 
wrote a pamphlet in reply to Rutherford. William Appo- 
lonius defended the English Presbyterians in a learned 
Latin treatise, which was replied to in Latin by Mr. 
Norton, of Ipswich.* Hugh Peters denominated it "the 

* Palfrey, II., 89, 92, and notes. 



270 THE BAY COLONY. 

pamphlet - glutted age." The war of words was princi- 
pally between the Scotch Presbyterian divines and Massa- 
chusetts Independent ministers. 

In 1645, three young men educated here for the min- 
istry went to England, Mr. Buckley, Mr. Higginson, and 
Mr. George Downing. Downing, soon after his arrival in 
England, was appointed a preacher in Fairfax's army. 

Massachusetts also furnished material aid to the Eng- 
lish Independents. Winthrop in 1645 writes, " Mr. Israel 
Stoughton, one of the magistrates, having been in England 
about merchandise, and returned with good advantage, 
went for England again the last winter, with divers other 
of our best military men, and entered into the Parliament's 
service. Mr. Stoughton was made lieutenant -colonel to 
Colonel Rainsborrow. Mr. Nehemiah Bourne, a ship 
carpenter, was major of his regiment, and Mr. John Lev- 
erett, son of one of the elders of the church of Boston, a 
captain of a foot company, and one William Hudson, en- 
sign of the same company, Lioll, surgeon of the Earl of 
Manchester's life guard. These did good service, and 
were well approved." * 

* Winthrop, II., 245. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN MASSACHUSETTS AND 
THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 

THE relations between the colony and the mother 
covnitry during the existence of the Long Parliament 
were such as to give great encouragement to the colonists. 
Early in 1641, a petition from persons from Massachu- 
setts, then in London, was preferred to the House of 
Lords, for relief from the restraints which had been put 
by the king upon ships and passengers for New England ;. 
" whereupon an order was made that we should enjoy all 
our liberties, etc., according to our patent, whereby our 
patent, which had been condemned and called in upon an 
erroneous judgment in a quo ivarranto, was now implicitly 
revived and confirmed." But Winthrop, with character- 
istic caution, was careful to add : " This petition was pre- 
ferred without warrant from our court." * In March, 
1643, the Commons passed an ordinance freeing New 
England from taxation either inward or outward, until the 
House take further order therein to the contrary, the pre- 
amble to which is as follows : " Whereas, the plantations 
in New England, have, by the blessing of Almighty God, 

* Winthrop, II., 42. 
271 



2/2 THE BAY COLONY. 

had good and prosperous success, without any public 
charge to this State, and are now Hkely to prove very 
happy for the propagation of the gospel in those parts, and 
very beneficial and commodious to this Kingdom and 
Nation, the Commons, now assembled in Parliament, do, 
for the better advancement of those plantations, and the 
encouragement of the planters to proceed in their under- 
taking, ordain, etc." 

Upon receipt of a copy of the ordinance, the General 
Court, in May of the same year, passed an order that, 
" Whereas it hath pleased the Lord, who of His free grace 
and mercy, hath from time to time taken the care of, and 
provided for the safety and good of His poor churches and 
people here in New England, so to move the hearts of the 
Honourable House of Commons in England as they have 
been pleased to make a special order in our favour, for 
acknowledgment of our humble thankfulness, and preserv- 
ing a grateful remembrance of the honourable respect 
from that high court, it is ordered, that the said order, 
being sent to us under the hand of the clerk of the said 
Honourable House of Commons, shall be entered among 
our public records, to remain there to posterity."* 

At the same court, "there arose a scruple" about tak- 
ing the first part of the oath of the governor and magis- 
trates, which was, " You shall bear true faith and allegiance 
to our sovereign Lord King Charles, seeing he had 
violated the privileges of Parliament, and made war upon 
them, and thereby had lost much of his Kingdom and 

*Mass. Records II., 34. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 2/3 

many of his subjects ; whereupon it was thought fit to 
omit that part of it for the present." * 

In November of the same year, 1643, Parliament placed 
the administration of all the colonies in the hands of a 
Board of Commissioners, with the Earl of Warwick at its 
head. Lord Say and Sele, Vane, Pym, and Cromwell were 
members of it.f 

In May, 1644, the General Court ordered, that "what 
person soever shall, by word, writing, or action, endeavour 
to disturb our peace, directly or indirectly, by drawing a 
party, under pretence that he is for the King of England, 
and such as adjoin with him, against the Parliament, shall 
be accounted as an offender of an high nature against this 
Commonwealth, and to be proceeded with either capitally 
or otherwise, according to the quality and degree of his 
offence, provided always that this shall not be extended 
against any merchant, strangers and shipmen that come 
hither merely for matter of trade and merchandise, albeit 
they should come from any of those parts that are in the 
hands of the king, and such as adhere to them against 
the Parliament, carrying themselves here quietly, and free 
from raising or nourishing any faction, mutiny or sedition 
amongst us, as aforesaid."^ 

A few months after, one Captain Stagg, commissioned 
by the Earl of Warwick, in a vessel carrying twenty-four 
guns, entered Boston Harbour. Finding there a ship from 
Bristol, which place was then held for the king, he com- 

* Winthrop, II., 100. t Ibid, 159 and n. 

\ Mass. Records, II., 69. 



274 THE BAY COLONY. 

manded her master to surrender to him, which he did. 
This caused much excitement on shore, and Winthrop 
wrote to the captain of the vessel to know by what author- 
ity he had acted. Stagg produced his commission, which 
authorised him to capture vessels from ports in the occu- 
pation of the king's party, on the high seas and harbours. 
Winthrop ordered him to take the paper to Governor 
Endicott in Salem, to be considered at a meeting of the 
magistrates. The last Lord's day some of the elders " had 
in their sermons reproved this proceeding, and exhorted 
the magistrates, etc., to maintain the people's liberties, 
which were, they said, violated by this act ; and that a 
commission could not supersede a patent. And at this 
meeting some of the magistrates and some of the elders 
were of the same opinion, and that the captain should be 
forced to restore the ship."* 

The subject was carefully considered by the magis- 
trates, and was concluded by allowing Captain Stagg to 
retain possession of his prize. 

The colonists claimed that, under the charter, they had 
exclusive authority to establish and maintain throughout 
the colony, local government, and to make and enforce 
such laws as they deemed expedient, which did not in 
spirit contravene the laws of England ; and that, as inci- 
dent thereto, they were entitled to the control of their 
harbours. The magistrates felt that the act of Stagg 
was an interference with their authority, but an act 
which they could condone. In deference to the Parlia- 

* Winthrop, II., iSi, 1S2. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 2/5 

ment they desired to condone it. Their only question 
upon it was how far such a condonation would be regarded 
as a precedent. They concluded that " this could be no 
precedent to bar us from opposing any commission or 
other foreign power that might indeed tend to our hurt 
and violate our liberty ; for the Parliament had taught us 
that sahis popiili is supvema Icx^ " If the Parliament 
should hereafter be of a malignant spirit, etc., then, if we 
have strength sufficient, we may make use of sa/us popidi 
to withstand any authority from thence to our hurt." The 
controlling reason for their decision is given by Winthrop. 
" If we who have so openly declared our affection to the 
cause of the Parliament by our prayers, fastings, etc., 
should now oppose their authority, or do anything that 
might make such an appearance, it would be laid hold on 
by those in Virginia and the West Indies, to confirm them 
in their rebellious course, and it would grieve all our godly 
friends in England, or any other of the Parliament's 
friends."* 

A short time after, one Richardson, master of a vessel 
from London, commissioned by the Parliament's lord 
admiral, threatened to capture in Boston Harbour a Dart- 
mouth ship in the king's service. Winthrop, then deputy 
governor, sent an order for Richardson to come on shore, 
which he declined to obey upon some pretext, whereupon 
a shot was fired from the shore battery which cut his rig- 
ging, and boats with forty stalwart men were started for 
the Dartmouth ship, upon which Richardson " came ashore 

* Winthrop, II., 182, 183. 



2-J^ THE BAY COLONY. 

and acknowledged his error, and his sorrow for what he 
had done." He was discharged with an order "to pay a 
barrel of powder, and to satisfy the officers and soldiers 
we had employed." Upon inspection of his commission 
it was claimed to be defective, " therefore we forbade 
him to meddle with any ship in our harbour."* 

One act could be condoned, but it must not be repeated. 

At the next annual session of the General Court, in 
May, 1645, ^ petition was prepared and sent to the Par- 
liament setting forth the facts regarding the seizure by 
Captain Stagg, and praying " that no such attempt may 
be made hereafter upon any ships in our harbours, or of 
any of our confederates in New England." f 

The temporary success of the Presbyterians in Parlia- 
ment encouraged some persons to make an attempt for 
the overthrow of the church system of Massachusetts, 
and, at the instigation of William Vassall, then of Scituate 
in Plymouth, a petition was prepared and presented to 
the General Court in May, 1647, signed by Dr. Childe, 
Samuel Maverick, Thomas Fowle, Thomas Burton, John 
Smith, David Yale, and John Dand, which set forth many 
things defamatory of the churches and Government, with 
the request, "that the distinctions which were maintained 
here both in civil and church estate, might be taken 
away, and that we might be wholly governed by the 
laws of England." An early reply was requested, and 
the threat was made that, if the requests were not com- 
plied with. Parliament would be petitioned on the subject. 

* Winthrop, II., 194, 195. t Mass. Records, II., 121. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 2// 

" But the court being then near at an end, and the matter 
being very weighty, they referred the further consider- 
ation thereof to the next session. And whereas a law 
was drawn up, and ready to pass, for allowing non-free- 
men equal power with the freemen in all town affairs, and 
to some (non) freemen of such estate, etc., their votes in 
election of magistrates : it was thought fit to defer this 
also to the next session." * 

In the summer of 1646, information was received that 
the Commissioners for Plantations had granted to Gorton 
and his associates authority to occupy Narraganset Bay, 
which included Shawomet. This caused great indig- 
nation among the people of Massachusetts, and at an 
adjournment of the General Court in November, this act 
of the commissioners and the petition of Dr. Childe and 
others were considered. The elders were present by 
invitation. First, the constitutional relations of the 
colony with England were discussed by the assistants, a 
majority of whom made a formal declaration of their 
opinions, in which they held, " that by our charter, we 
had absolute power of government, for thereby we have 

* Winthrop, II., 261-263. 

Probably the subject of modifying the legislation of the colony in regard 
to the non-freemen had been considered, of which there is no record, and 
the proposition, as stated by Winthrop, was designed not so much out of 
regard to the claims of the non-freemen here, as to render aid to the In- 
dependents in England, who were striving for toleration, and who by their 
enemies were tauntingly referred to the Government here as foreshadow- 
ing what they said the result would be in England, if the Independents 
should be successful. 



2^8 THE BAY COLOA'Y. 

power to make laws, to erect all sorts of magistracy, to 
correct, punish, pardon, govern, and rule the people abso- 
lutely." They admitted that they owed a certain general 
allegiance to Parliament, but none that would interfere 
with the absolute right of self-government under their 
charter.* 

The elders desired time for consideration, and the next 
day "they presented their advice" in writing. "We 
conceive," they said, " that in point of government, we 
have granted by patent such full and ample power of 
choosing all officers that shall command and rule over us, 
of making all laws and rules of our obedience, and of a 
full and final determination of all cases in the adminis- 
tration of justice, that no appeals or other ways of inter- 
rupting our proceedings do lie against us." f 

After thus defining their rights, the court sent for the 
petitioners to be present to answer for the seditious lan- 
guage contained in their petition. The petitioners being all 
present but Maverick, " demanded what should be laid 
to their charge," upon which a committee was appointed 
to prepare charges, who reported as follows : " The court 
doth charge Dr. Childe, etc., with divers false and scan- 
dalous passages in a certain paper, entitled a remon- 
strance and petition (exhibited by them to this court in 
the third month last) against the churches of Christ and 
the civil government here established, derogating from 
the honour and authority of the same, and tending to 
sedition," to which were added specifications of the 
* Winthrop, II., 278, 279. t Ibid, 2S2. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 2/9 

offences. A lengthy discussion between the petitioners 
and the court followed. Dr. Childe, among other things, 
claimed that the charter made the grantees a corporation 
of England, and that they were consequently subject to 
the laws of England. To this and other claims of the 
petitioners against the authority of the colony, Winthrop 
said very significantly, " Among the Romans, Grecians, 
and other nations, colonies have been esteemed rather 
than towns, yea than many cities, for they have been the 
foundations of great Commonwealths. And it was a fruit 
of much pride and folly in these petitioners to despise the 
day of small things." * 

The petitioners persisting in their statements, were fined 
in sums of from ^lo to ^50 each. They were offered, 
if they would acknowledge "their miscarriage," that their 
fines should be "freely remitted. But they remaining 
obstinate, the court declared their sentence as is before 
expressed. Upon which they all appealed to the Parlia- 
ment, etc., and tendered their appeal in writing. The 
court received the paper, but refused to accept it, or to 
read it in the court." f 

Childe and Dand made preparations to go to England 
in a vessel that was to sail in about a week, to prosecute 
the appeal ; and, meanwhile, the signatures of about twenty- 
five persons, who had not been admitted as freemen, were 
obtained to a petition to Parliament ; and many of them, 
according to Winthrop, were men of no estate, who were 
only temporarily here. The assistants caused a search to 

* Winthrop, II., 285, 291, t Ibid, 291, 292. 



280 THE BAY COLONY. 

be made of Childe's and Band's studies as they were 
about to leave, and found among Band's papers the 
petition above referred to, and another signed by the 
seven persons who had petitioned the General Court, 
complaining of the treatment they had received, and ask- 
ing, among other things, that the churches may be 
settled, "according to the reformation of England;" that 
the laws of England may be established here ; that a gen- 
eral governor may be appointed, and the oath of allegiance 
be commanded. Upon this, Childe and his associates 
were tried, and Childe and Band were fined two hundred 
pounds each, Maverick one hundred and fifty, and two 
others one hundred each.* 

At the session of the General Court in which the peti- 
tion of Childe and his associates was considered, it was 
deemed necessary that the Government should be specially 
represented in England, not only to oppose the appeal 
claimed by the petitioners, but to seek a review of the 
order Gorton had obtained, allowing him and his associates 
to remain at Shawomet. It was first thought best to send 
over Mr. Norton, of Ipswich, and Governor Winthrop. 
" Mr. Peters had written to the Governor to come over 
and assist in the Parliament's cause, etc.," but it was 
feared if he went over "he would be called into the 
Parliament and so detained." Finally choice was made of 
Mr. Winslow, of Plymouth, who had before ably repre- 
sented Massachusetts in England, f The General Court 
prepared, and sent by Mr. Winslow, a petition to the Earl 

♦Winthrop, II., 292, 293. Mass. Records, III., 113. t Ibid, 283. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND THE LO^VG PARLIAMENT. 28 1 

of Warwick and the other Commissioners for Foreign Plan- 
tations, in which was made the special request that they 
would " conform our liberties, granted to us by charter, 
by leaving delinquents to our just proceedings, and dis- 
countenancing our enemies and disturbers of our peace, 
or such as molest our people there, upon pretence of 
injustice."* 

But upon the arrival of Childe in England with his 
petitions, affairs were changed. " Pride's Purge " had 
given the Independents control in Parliament, and the 
appellants failed to obtain any encouragement or aid in 
their project, and the Government here was officially 
informed that the commissioners "intended not thereby to 
encourage any appeals from your justice, nor to restrain 
the bounds of your jurisdiction to a narrower compass 
than is held forth by your letters patent, but to leave you 
with all that freedom and latitude that may in any 
respect, be duly claimed by you." f 

In the meantime, a dispute between Connecticut and 
Massachusetts was brought before the Confederate com- 
missioners. Connecticut, through Fenwick, in 1644, pur- 
chased the fort and lands at Saybrook. One of the 
conditions of the purchase was, that Fenwick should, for 
ten years, receive certain duties to be collected from all 
vessels passing out of the Connecticut River. The inhabi- 
tants of Springfield refused to pay the duty upon the 
ground, principally, that the revenue received therefrom 
was part payment for the fort ; to which they, being under 

* Winthrop, II., 298. t Ibid, 319, 320. 



282 THE BAY COLONY. 

the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, could not be called 
upon to contribute. 

The penalty for refusing to pay the duty was confis- 
cation. Connecticut deferred imposing the penalty until 
the question of the validity of the duty should be passed 
upon by the Confederate commissioners. The subject 
was brought before the commissioners by Connecticut, in 
1846, but as Mr. Pynchon was absent, and the Massa- 
chusetts commissioners had received no instructions upon 
it from their government, its consideration was postponed 
to the next meeting. The General Court of Massachu- 
setts, at a session in November of the same year, considered 
the matter, and placed upon record its reasons why such a 
duty should not be levied upon vessels from Springfield, 
and claimed that, if Connecticut had the right to exercise 
such a power, Massachusetts had the right " to imitate 
them in the like kind," but desired it " be forborne on 
both sides." * 

At a special meeting of the commissioners held at Boston 
in July, 1647, which was called on account of anticipated 
trouble with the Indians, the subject of the imposts was 
considered and debated at length, the reasons on both 
sides being given. As Massachusetts and Connecticut 
were interested parties, the commissioners from Plymouth 
and New Haven alone acted. They decided in favour of 
the claim of Connecticut ; but voted that any deputy from 
Massachusetts colony or from Springfield should have lib- 
erty to reopen the matter at the next meeting of the com- 

*Mass. Records, II., 182, 183. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND THE LONG PARLIAMENT. 283 

■missioners ; and that if they did reopen it they should not 
be prejudiced by the decision then made. 

The decision created much ill-feeling in Massachusetts, 
and at the next annual session of the General Court, in 
May, 1648, a committee was appointed "to peruse the 
articles of confederation with the United Colonies, as also 
the acts that have passed the commissioners, which may 
seem either to confound the power of our General Court, 
or so interfere with it as may, in a short time, prove not 
only prejudicial, but exceedingly uncomfortable." The 
committee was instructed to " draw up what remedies 
they can think of, with such arguments as may be preva- 
lent with all whom it may concern," which the Massachu- 
setts commissioners should present " to the rest of the 
commissioners of the United Colonies." * The committee, 
in accordance with its instructions, agreed upon certain 
propositions, which were presented to the commissioners 
at their next meeting in Plymouth, in September. The 
propositions were to limit the powers of the commission- 
ers in several particulars, that they hold their meet- 
ings biennially instead of annually, and, inasmuch as 
Massachusetts bore five times the expense of any other 
colony, in the proportion adopted in the Articles of Con- 
federation, they desired that Massachusetts should have 
an additional commissioner ; and that the apportionment 
of expenses should not be in accordance with the numbers 
of population. The committee further asked if it were not 
reasonable to be declared, that whereas the orders of the 

* Mass. Records, II., 245. 



284 THE BAY COLONY. 

Confederate commissioners were only advisory, that any 
colony which did not see fit to follow such advice should 
not be considered offensive or violating any articles of the 
confederation. The subject of imposts was again debated ; 
and the Massachusetts commissioners produced an order 
from their General Court reciting the decision against 
Springfield, and laying an impost, similar to the one 
Connecticut had laid against Saybrook, on articles ex- 
ported from or imported into Boston by the inhabitants 
of either of the other three confederate colonies.* The 
commissioners forwarded to Massachusetts a remonstrance 
against the order, and "desired to be spared in all further 
agitations concerning Springfield." The General Court 
of Massachusetts repealed the order the next year, 

* Mass. Records, II., 269. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE CAMBRIDGE PLATFORM. 

^ I ^HE earlier churches were organised severally under 
-*- similar governments and rules of discipline, but their 
relations to each other were not defined nor provided for. 
The difficulty of holding the churches together was soon 
seen, unless some efficient mode for their concurrent 
action should be provided, which would substantially 
secure their uniformity. 

Hutchinson says that, in the several plantations, " they 
formed themselves into distinct churches, one after 
another, but seem to have had no settled scheme or plan 
of church government until Mr. Cotton came over in 
1633. His praise was in all the churches, as the princi- 
pal projector of the plan of the government of the New 
England churches, which, from that time, took the name 
of Congregational. This was called the middle way 
between Brownism and Presbyterianism." * 

The importance of providing measures to secure uni- 
formity in the churches became so apparent that the Gen- 
eral Court, in March, 1635, as has been before related, 
passed an order, entreating the elders and brethren of 
every church to " consult and advise of one uniform order 

* Hutchinson, I., 370. 
285 



286 THE BAY COLONY. 

of discipline in the churches, agreeable to the Scriptures.'* 
There is no public record of what was done under this 
order, but the proceedings on the petition of Childe and 
others called the attention of the people to the necessity 
of formal and authoritative action on the subject ; and the 
General Court, in May, 1646, declared "that the right 
form of church government and discipline, being agreed 
part of the Kingdom of Christ upon earth, therefore the 
settling and establishing thereof by the joint and public 
agreement and consent of churches, and by the sanction 
of civil authority, must needs greatly conduce to the honour 
and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the settling 
and safety of Church and Commonwealth, where such a 
duty is diligently attended and performed ; " and that inas- 
much as " some differences of opinion and practice of one 
church from another do already appear amongst us ; and 
others (if not timely prevented) are like speedily to ensue, 
and this not only in lesser things, but even in points of no 
small consequence." . . . " Therefore for the further heal- 
ing and preventing of the further growth of the said dif- 
ferences, and upon other grounds, and for other ends afore- 
mentioned ; although this court make no question of their 
lawful power by the word of God to assemble the churches, 
or their messengers, upon occasion of counsel or anything 
which may concern the practice of the churches, yet 
because all members of the churches, though godly 
and faithful, are not yet clearly satisfied in this point, it 
is, therefore, thought expedient for the present occasion 
not to make use of that power, but rather to express our 



THE CAMBRIDGE PLATFORM. 2%J 

desire that the churches will answer the desire of this pres- 
ent General Court, that there be a public assembly of the 
elders and other messengers of the several churches within 
this jurisdiction, who may come together and meet at 
Cambridge, upon the first day of September now next 
ensuing, there to discuss, dispute, and clear up, by the 
word of God, such questions of church government and 
discipline in the things aforementioned, or any other, as 
they shall think needful and meet, and to continue so doing 
until they, or the major of them, shall have agreed and 
consented upon one form of government and discipline, 
for the main and substantial parts thereof, as that which 
they judge agreeable to the Holy Scriptures." It was 
further desired, that said assembly report, in writing, what 
shall be agreed upon, to the governor or deputy governor, 
who shall present the same to the next General Court ; 
" to the end, that the same, being found agreeable to the 
word of God, it may receive from the said General Court 
such approbation as is meet." It was further ordered, 
that the churches of the other confederate colonies be re- 
quested to send representatives to the said assembly.* 

All the churches of the colony were represented in the 
assembly thus called at Cambridge, except those of Bos- 
ton, Salem, and Concord. The elder of Concord was 
unable to attend, and no other suitable person could be 
agreed upon. Boston and Salem took offence at the order 
of the court, on the grounds that the elders had a right to 
assemble without the consent of the civil authorities ; and 

* See Mass. Records, 154-157. 



288 THE BAY COLONY. 

that the order was procured by some of the elders " to the 
intent to make ecclesiastical laws to bind the churches, 
and to have the sanction of the civil authority put upon 
them, whereby men should be forced, under penalty, to 
submit to them, whereupon they concluded that they 
should betray the liberty of the churches if they should 
consent to such a synod."* 

The subject was discussed in Boston for two Lord's 
days before the meeting of the assembly, but a vote could 
not be obtained to take part in the synod. On the day 
after the meeting of the assembly, Mr. Norton, of Ips- 
wich, officiated at the Boston lecture, and, in his sermon, 
discussed the questions at issue ; and the next Lord's day, 
after much debate, it was voted that the elders and three 
of the brethren should represent the church of Boston in 
the assembly.! The synod, after a session of about four- 
teen days, adjourned to the eighth day of June next, "in 
regard of winter drawing on, and few of the elders of 
other colonies were present. "J The synod again met at 
the time to which it was adjourned. Governor Bradford 
was present to represent the church of Plymouth. On 
the second day, Mr. Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley, preached 
in the forenoon, and " in the afternoon Mr. Eliot preached 
to the Indians in their own language before all the assem- 
bly. "§ But, owing to a prevailing epidemic, the synod 
was again adjourned, and reassembled on the fifteenth day 
of August, 1648, when, in the words of Winthrop, it 

*Winthrop, II., 269. J Ibid, 271. 

t Ibid, 269, 270. § Ibid, 308. 



THE CAMBRIDGE PLATEORM. 289 

"went on comfortably." The synod finished its work 
"in less than fourteen days." The synod agreed upon 
" A Platform of Church Discipline ; " which was largely 
declaratory of the discipline of the churches as had been 
before practised by agreement and usage.* 

According to the platform, church - membership was 
allowed only to those who, upon examination, were proved 
to have repented of sin and had faith in Jesus Christ. 
The examination of candidates was publicly made before 
the church ; but, " in case any, through excessive fear, or 
other infirmity, be unable to make their personal relation 
of their spiritual estate in public," they might be exam- 
ined by the elders in private ; and admitted upon their 
report and approval. f The form of admission " is the 
visible covenant, agreement or consent, whereby they give 
up themselves to the Lord, to the observing of the ordi- 
nances of Christ, together in the same society, which is 
usually called the 'Church covenant.'"^ This covenant 
might be taken by subscribing, or giving verbal or silent 
consent. Baptism followed the taking of the covenant, 
but children of whom one parent was a member of the 
church could be baptised in their infancy or minority,, 
only one baptism being allowed ; but such, desiring to 
become members of the church after arriving at years 
of discretion, were subjected to the same examination as 
others. " Yet these church-members that were so born, 
or received in their childhood, before they are capable of 

* Winthrop, II., 330, 331. For the Platform, see Mather's Magnalia,Vol. II. 
t Platform, XII., s. 3 and 3. J Ibid, IV., s. 3. 



290 THE BAY COLONY. 

being made partakers of full communion, have many privi- 
leges, which others (not church-members) have not ; they 
are in covenant with God, have the seal thereof upon them, 
viz. : baptism, and so if not regenerated, yet are in a more 
hopeful way of attaining regenerating grace, and all the 
spiritual blessings, both of the covenant (of their parents) 
and seal ; they are also under church watch, and conse- 
quently subject to the reprehensions, admonitions, and 
censures thereof, for their healing and amendment, as 
need shall require." * 

Persons removing their habitation, upon letters testimo- 
nial and of dismissal, could be admitted to the church of 
their next abode, but that church, in its discretion, could 
require a new profession of faith and repentance. 

The power of excommunication resided in each church. 
If one member offended another it could be condoned by 
an acknowledgment of his repentance to the brother 
offended. If he refused or neglected to do this the 
offended brother could admonish him privately ; if this 
did not bring him to repentance the offended brother 
could admonish him in the presence of others, which, if 
not effectual, then complaint through the elders could 
be made to the church, " and if the church discern him 
to be willing to hear, yet not fully convinced of his of- 
fence, as in case of heresy, they are to dispense to him 
a public admonition ; which, declaring the offender to lie 
under the public offence of the church, doth thereby 
withhold or suspend him from the holy fellowship of the 

* Platform, XIII., s. 7. 



THE CAMBRIDGE PLATFORM. 29 1 

Lord's Supper, till his offence be removed by penitent 
confession. If he still continue obstinate, they are to 
cast him out by excommunication." But if the offence 
be more public, and of a more heinous and criminal nature, 
then the church, "without such gradual proceeding," is 
to excommunicate him. " While the offender remains 
excommunicate, the church is to refrain from all member- 
like communion with him in spiritual things, and also from 
all familiar communion with him in civil things, further 
than the necessity of natural or domestical or civil rela- 
tions do require ; and are, therefore, to forbear to eat and 
drink with him, that he may be ashamed."* 

It further declared that a church should consist of only 
such a number as could conveniently meet together in one 
place, and not of a smaller number than could conveniently 
perform the work of the church. 

The officers consisted of a pastor and a teacher, known 
as the elders ; ruling elders and deacons ; also deaconesses, 
but none were ever appointed. 

The pastor's special work was to exhort, the teacher's 
to expound and instruct in doctrine. Either of them could 
baptise or execute the censures of the church. The dif- 
ference in their duties was but shadowy, and in a few years 
the office of teacher was discontinued. The duties of the 
ruling elders were to admit members approved by the 
church, to call special meetings of the church, " to be 
guides and leaders to the church, in all matters whatso- 
ever pertaining to church administration and actions," and 
* Platform, XIV., s. 2 and 5. 



292 THE BAY COLONY. 

"to visit and pray over the sick brethren." This office 
was also afterwards discontinued. 

Deacons were also elected, " to receive the offerings of 
the church, gifts given to the church, and to keep the 
treasury of the church, and therewith to serve the tables 
which the church is to provide for," but not to perform 
any of the duties of the elders.* 

To each church was given the power to elect all its offi- 
cers, and " in case of manifest unworthiness and delin- 
quency " to depose them. f They were "to be ordained 
by imposition of hands and prayer, with which at the 
ordination of elders, fasting also is to be joined." "This 
ordination we account nothing but the solemn putting a 
man into his place and office in the church, whereunto he 
had right before by election ; being like the installing of a 
magistrate in the Commonwealth." In churches which 
have elders, they are to ordain by imposition of hands, 
but in churches which have none, the duty may be per- 
formed by some of the brethren chosen for the purpose by 
the church, or, if the church desire it, may be performed 
by elders of other churches. It was also advised that 
neighbouring churches be conferred with in the selection 
of officers of a church. It was further declared, that 
" church officers are officers to one church, even that par- 
ticular over which the Holy Ghost hath made them over- 
seers," and that "he that is clearly released from his office 
relation unto that church whereof he was a minister, cannot 
be looked at as an officer, nor perform any act of office in 

■ * Platform, VI., VII. t Ibid, VIII., s. 6. 



THE CAMBRIDGE PLATFORM. 293 

any other church, unless he be again orderly called unto 
office ; which when it shall be, we know nothing to hinder ; 
but imposition of hands also in his ordination ought to be 
used towards him again." * But in case ot absence or 
sickness of a minister, his place could be temporarily sup- 
plied by a minister of another church ; and members of one 
church were allowed to visit and partake of the communion 
in other churches. The platform declares that, " although 
churches may be distinct, and therefore may not be con- 
founded one with another, and equal, and therefore have 
not dominion one over another, yet all the churches ought 
to preserve church communion one with another."! 

* Platform, IX. 

t The following extract from the Body of Liberties shows the origin of a 
distinctive feature of Congregational polity : 

" For the preventing and removing of error and offence that may grow 
and spread in any of the churches in this Jurisdiction, and for the preserv- 
ing of truth and peace in the several churches within themselves, and for 
the maintenance and exercise of brotherly communion, amongst all the 
churches in the country. It is allowed and ratified by the authority of 
this General Court as a lawful liberty of the churches of Christ. That 
once in every month of the year (when the season will bear it) it shall be 
lawful for the ministers and elders, of the churches near adjoining together, 
with any other of the brethren with the consent of the churches to assemble 
by course in each several church one after another. To the intent after 
the preaching of the word by such a minister as shall be requested thereto 
by the elders of the church where the assembly is held, the rest of the day 
may be spent in public Christian conference about the discussing and re- 
solving of any such doubts and cases of conscience concerning matter of 
doctrine, or worship, or government of the church as shall be propounded 
by any of the brethren of that church, with leave also to any other brother 
to propound his objections or answers for further satisfaction according to 
the word of God. Provided that the whole action be guided and moder- 



294 THE BAY COLONY. 

This was to be done in various ways, by mutual care 
for the welfare of each, by consultations for counsel and 
adv'ice, by assisting each other in case of need, by inter- 
communion and admonition. A church which had offended 
was to be admonished by a neighbouring church, which, if 
not hearkened to, other neighbouring churches were to be 
called upon to join in the admonition. If the offending 
church still remained obstinate, then a council of churches 
was to be called ta consider the offence. If convicted by 
the council, and the conviction approved by the several 
churches, then the sentence of excommunication was to 
be passed, which was not to apply to those members of 
the excommunicated churches who did not consent to the 
offence of the church. They could be admitted without 
letters of recommendation and dismissal into other 
churches.* 

Synods, although declared not to be absolutely neces- 
sary, were approved in extreme cases, "to debate and 

ated by the elders of the church where the assembly is held, or by such 
others as they shall appoint. And that no thing be concluded and imposed 
by way of authority from one or more churches upon another, but only by 
way of brotherly conference and consultations. That the truth may be 
searched out to the satisfying of every man's conscience in the sight of God 
according His word. And because such an assembly and the work thereof 
can not be duly attended to if other lectures be held in the same week, it 
is therefore agreed with the consent of the churches. That in that week 
when such an assembly is held, all the lectures in all the neighbouring 
churches for that week shall be forborne. That so the public service of 
Christ in this more solemn assembly may be transacted with greater 
diligence and attention." 
* Platform, XV. 



THE CAMBRIDGE PLATFORM. 295 

determine controversies of faith, and cases of conscience, 
to clear from the word holy directions for the holy wor- 
ship of God, and good government of the Church, to bear 
witness against maladministration and corruption in doc- 
trine or manners in any particular church, and to give 
directions for the reformation thereof ; not to exercise 
church censures in way of discipline, nor any other act 
of church authority or jurisdiction." 

The power of the magistrate in ecclesiastical matters 
was the subject most difficult for the synod to define. 
The platform declares that " the power and authority of 
magistrates is not for the restraining of churches or any 
other good works, but for helping in and furthering 
thereof ; " that it was not in the power of magistrates to 
compel individuals to become church -members and to 
partake at the Lord's table, or meddle with the work 
proper to church officers, nor exercise " things merely 
inward, and so not subject to his cognisance and views, 
as unbelief, hardness of heart, erroneous opinions not 
vented, but only such things as are acted by the outward 
man." But " idolatry, blasphemy, heresy, venting corrupt 
and pernicious opinions that destroy the foundation, open 
contempt of the word preached, profanation of the Lord's 
day, disturbing the peaceful administration and exercise 
of the worship and holy things of God, and the like, are 
to be restrained and punished by civil authority," and " if 
any church, one or more shall grow schismatical, rending 
itself from the communion of other churches, or shall 
walk incorrigibly and obstinately in any corrupt way of 



296 THE BAY COLONY. 

their own, contrary to the rule of the word ; in such case, 
the magistrate is to put forth his coercive power as the 
matter shall require." * 

The synod also adopted "The Confession of Faith" 
of the Westminster assembly, but declined to accept its 
platform of church government and discipline. 

The platform adopted was presented to the General 
Court, which, in October, 1649, ordered that it be sub- 
mitted to the several churches, with the request that they 
should report at the next General Court their approval 
or disapproval of it.f At the next General Court, many 
of the churches having made no report, they were all 
requested to make report at the next session. Many of 
the churches reported their approval, but some presented 
objections against some of the particulars of it, which 
objections were referred to the elders, "to be cleared and 
removed." The elders made their report in writing to 
the court in October, 165 1, when the court gave "their 
testimony to the said book of discipline, that for the 
substance thereof it is what we have practiced and do 
believe." \ 

* Platform, XVII. t Winthrop, II., 285. 

I Mass. Records, Vol. IV., Part I., 57, 58. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

BEGINNINGS OF WITCHCRAFT IN THE COLONY, 
AND DEATH OF WINTHROP. 

"|\ yTANY instances showing the superstitions of the 
■^^ -*- time are related by Winthrop. Physical troubles 
of Mrs. Hutchinson and Mrs. Dyer are described in 
detail as punishments for their heresies.* Many sudden 
deaths by drowning and otherwise are regarded as judg- 
ments upon the deceased for the profligacy of their lives ; 
a great combat between a mouse and a snake at Water- 
town is related, in which the mouse was the victor, and 
Mr. Winthrop states, " The pastor of Boston, Mr. Wilson, 
a very sincere, holy man, hearing of it, gave this interpre- 
tation : that the snake was the devil, the mouse was a 
poor, contemptible people which God had brought hither, 
which should overcome Satan here, and dispossess him 
of his kingdom ; " f and it is stated that at a session of the 
synod at Cambridge, whilst Mr. Allen, of Dedham, was 
preaching, a snake came in at the door, and Mr. Thomp- 
son, one of the elders of Braintree, trod upon the head of 
it and killed it, and Winthrop states, " This being so 
remarkable and nothing falling out but by Divine Provi- 

* Winthrop, I., 261, 271. t Ibid, 81. 

297 



298 THE BAY COLONY. 

dence, it is out of doubt, the Lord discovered somewhat 
of His mind in it. The serpent is the devil, the synod, 
the representative of the churches of Christ in New Eng- 
land. The devil had formerly and lately attempted their 
disturbance and dissolution, but their faith in the seed of 
the woman overcame him and crushed his head." * 

Mr. Winthrop also states as " a thing worthy of obser- 
vation," that Winthrop, the younger, had in his library a 
volume in which the Greek Testament, the Psalms, and 
the Common Prayer were bound together, and that " he 
found the common prayer eaten with mice, every leaf of 
it, and not any of the two others touched, nor any other 
of his books, though they were above a thousand, f " 

Mr. Winthrop also gives expression to the general belief 
in witchcraft which prevailed in that period ; and an 
account of the trial, conviction and execution of a woman 
for witchcraft. He states that when Mrs. Hutchinson 
dwelt in Boston there were circumstances which " gave 
cause of suspicion of witchcraft, for it was certainly 
known that Hawkins's wife (who continued with her and 
was her bosom friend) had much familiarity with the devil 
in England, where she dwelt at St. Ives, where divers 
ministers and others resorted to her, and found it true.J 

The first mention of an accusation of witchcraft in the 
colonies was in March, 1647. ^^ his journal of that date 

Winthrop writes, " One , of Windsor, arraigned and 

executed at Hartford for a witch." § 

* Winthrop, II., 330. X Ibid, 9. 

t Ibid, 20. § Ibid, 307. 



BEGINNINGS OF WITCHCRAFT IN THE COLONY. 299 

The next year, 1648, he relates that one Margaret Jones, 
of Charlestown, was indicted, convicted, and executed for 
witchcraft. The only reference to the case made in the 
records of the General Court was in May, 1648, and is as 
follows : " The court desire the course which hath been 
taken in England for discovery of witches, by watching 
them a certain time. It is ordered that the best and 
surest way may forthwith be put in practice, to begin this 
night if it may be, being the iSth of the 3d month, and 
that the husband may be confined to a private room and 
be also then watched." * In June, 1648, Winthrop states, 
" At this court, one Margaret Jones, of Charlestown, was 
indicted and found guilty of witchcraft, and hanged for it. 
The evidence against her was, first, that she was found to 
have such a malignant touch, as many persons (men, 
women, and children) whom she stroked or touched with 
any affection or displeasure, or, etc., were taken with deaf- 
ness, or vomiting, or other violent pains or sickness ; sec- 
ond, she practiced physic, and her medicines being such 
things as (by her own confession) were harmless, as ani- 
seed, liquors, etc., yet had extraordinary violent effects ; 
third, she would use to tell such as would not make use of 
her physic that they would never be healed, and accord- 
ingly their diseases and hurts continued, with relapse 
against the ordinary course, and beyond the apprehen- 
sion of all physicians and surgeons ; fourth, some things 
which she foretold came to pass accordingly ; other things 
she could tell of (as secret speeches, etc.) which she had 

* Mass. Records, II., 242. 



300 THE BAY COLONY. 

no ordinary means to come to the knowledge of ; five, she 
had (upon search) an apparent teat. . . . Six, in the prison, 
in the clear daylight, there was seen in her arms, she sit- 
ting on the floor, ... a little child, which ran from her 
into another room, and the officer following it, it was van- 
ished. The like child was seen in two other places, to 
which she had relation ; and one maid that saw it fell sick 
upon it, and was cured by the said Margaret, who used 
means to be employed to that end. Her behaviour at her 
trial was very intemperate, lying notoriously, and railing 
upon the jury and witnesses, etc., and in the like distem- 
per she died," and he added, " The same day and hour she 
was executed there was a very great tempest at Connec- 
ticut, which blew down many trees, etc." * 

On the twenty-eighth day of the same month of June, 
Winthrop states, "The Welcome of Boston, about 300 
tons, riding before Charlestown, having in her eighty 
horses and 1 20 tons of ballast, in calm weather fell a roll- 
ing, and continued so about twelve hours, so as though 
they brought a great weight to the one side, yet she 
would keel to the other, and so deep as they feared her 
foundering. It was then the time of the county court at 
Boston, and the magistrates hearing of it, and withal that 
one Jones (the husband of the witch lately executed) had 
desired to have passage in her to Barbadoes, and could 
not have it without such payment, etc., they sent the offi- 
cer, presently, with a warrant to apprehend him, one of 
them saying that the ship would stand still as soon as he 

* Winthrop, II., 326. 



BEGINNINGS OF WITCHCRAFT IN THE COLONY. 3OI 

was in prison. And as the officer went, and was passing 
over the ferry, one said to him, ' You can tame men some- 
times, can't you tame this ship ? ' The officer answered, 
' I have that here, that (it may be) will tame her, and make 
her to be quiet ; ' and with that showed his warrant. And 
at the same instant she began to stop, and presently staid. 
and after he was put in prison moved no more." * 

This is the first account of a conviction and execution 
for witchcraft in Massachusetts under that terrible delu 
sion which pervaded all Christian countries ; and under 
which many thousands of persons of both sexes, in Eng- 
land, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden 
and Norway, were burned, drowned or hung. ^ 

" Be not too swift in casting the first stone, 
Nor think New England bears the guilt alone ; 
This sudden burst of wickedness and crime 
Was but the common madness of the time, 
When in all lands that lie within the sound 
Of Sabbath bells, a witch was burned or drowned." 

The belief in witchcraft was universal. The belief was 
that the devil, at times possessed himself of a human 
being, and, through the agency of his victim, inflicted 
incalculable misery and suffering upon whole neighbour- 
hoods ; and we can but faintly conceive of the awful 
terror and consternation which pervaded a whole com- 
munity upon the rumour of occurrences which suggested 
the probability of such a visitation by the Evil One upon 
one of its members, or of the dire imaginings it excited. 

* W^inthrop, II., 327. 



302 THE BAY COLONY. 

Chief Justice Sir Matthew Hale, in his charge to the 
jury on the trial of Rose Cullender cind Amy Duny for 
witchcraft in 1665, gave testimony to the belief of his 
time. He said : " That there were such creatures as 
witches he made no doubt at all. For first, the Scriptures 
had affirmed so much. Secondly, the wisdom of all nations 
had provided laws against such persons, which is an argu- 
ment in their confidence of such a crime. And such has 
been the judgment of this kingdom, as appears by an act 
of Parliament which hath provided punishments propor- 
tionate to the quality of the offence."* 

The execution of Margaret Jones was one of the last 
acts which Winthrop records. In a short time after it 
he was taken with an illness of which he died March 26, 
1649,1 ^t the age of sixty-three. 

His death marked the close of the first, and a distinc- 
tive period in the history of the colony. It was the forma- 
tive period, in which, as has been shown, the civil and 
religious affairs of the colony were developed into definite 
and substantially permanent forms. 

No one can read the history of this period without 
being deeply impressed with the influence which Winthrop 
exerted in the settlement of the many important questions 
which necessarily presented themselves in construing the 
different provisions of the charter, and in deciding upon 
the policies of the Government under the varying and 
oftentimes perplexing circumstances of the time. His 
wisdom and prudence were largely instrumental in the 

* State Trials, VI., 687. t 1650, new style. 



BEGINNINGS OF WITCHCRAFT IN THE COLONY. 305 

settlement of the colony. In essentials he was firm and 
immovable, but in matters of conduct, and in all the 
details to a desired end, he was most conciliatory. To his 
memory, more than to that of any of his worthy associates^ 
Massachusetts owes a lasting debt of gratitude. 



APPENDIX. 



THE CHARTER 

OF THE 

COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 
I 629. 

CHARLES, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scot- 
land, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Szc. 
To all to whom these presents shall come. Greeting. Whereas, 
our most dear and royal father, king James, of blessed memory, 
by his Highness letters-patent bearing date at Westminster, the 
third day of November, in the eighteenth year of his reign, 
hath given and granted unto the Council established at 
Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, 
ordering, and governing of New England in America, and to 
their successors and assigns for ever, all that part of America, 
lying and being in breadth, from forty degrees of northerly lati- 
tude from the equinoctial line, to forty-eight degrees of the said 
northerly latitude inclusively, and in length, of and within all 
the breadth aforesaid, throughout the main lands from sea to 
sea ; together also with all the firm lands, soils, grounds, havens, 
ports, rivers, waters, fishing, mines, and minerals, as well 

305 



306 APPENDIX. 

royal mines of gold and silver, as other mines and minerals, 
precious stones, quarries, and all and singular other com- 
modities, jurisdictions, royalties, privileges, franchises, and 
preeminences, both within the said tract of land upon the main, 
and also within the islands and seas adjoining : Provided 
always, That the said islands, or any the premises by the said 
letters-patent intended and meant to be granted, were not then 
actually possessed or inhabited by any other christian prince 
or state, nor within the bounds, limits, or territories of the 
southern colony, then before granted by our said dear Father, 
to be planted by divers of his loving subjects in the south 
parts. To have and to hold, possess and enjoy all and singu- 
lar the aforesaid continent, lands, territories, islands, heredita- 
ments, and precincts, seas, waters, fishings, with all, and all 
manner their commodities, royalties, liberties, preeminences, 
and profits that should from thenceforth, arise from thence, 
with all and singular their appurtenances and every part and 
parcel thereof, unto the said council and their successors and 
assigns for ever, to the sole and proper use, benefit, and behoof 
of them the said council, and their successors and assigns for- 
ever : To be holden of our said most dear and royal father, his 
heirs and successors, as of his manor of East-Greenwich in the 
county of Kent, in free and common soccage, and not in 
capite nor by knight's service : Yielding and paying therefor to 
the said late king, his heirs and successors, the fifth part of the 
ore of gold and silver, which should from time to time, and at 
all times then after happen to be found, gotten, had, and 
obtained in, at, or within any of the said lands, limits, terri- 
tories, and precincts, or in or within any part or parcel thereof, 
for or in respect of all and all manner of duties, demands and 
services whatsoever, to be done, made, or paid to our said dear 



APPENDIX. 307 

father the late king, his heirs and successors, as in and by the 
said letters-patent (amongst sundry others clauses, powers, priv- 
ileges, and grants therein contained,) more at large appeareth : 
And whereas, the said council established at Plymouth, in the 
county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering, and gov- 
erning of New England in America, have by their deed in- 
dented, under their common seal, bearing date the nineteenth 
day of March last past, in the third year of our reign, given, 
granted, bargained, sold, enfeoffed, aliened, and confirmed to 
Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Young, Knights, Thomas South- 
cott, John Humphrey, John Endecott, and Simon Whetcombe, 
their heirs and assigns, and their associates for ever, all that 
part of New England in America aforesaid, which lies and 
extends between a great river there, commonly called Mono- 
mack, alias Merrimack, and a certain other river there, called 
Charles river, being in the bottom of a certain bay there, 
commonly called Massachusetts, alias Mattachusetts, alias 
Massatusetts bay, and also all and singular those lands and 
hereditaments whatsoever, lying within the space of three 
English miles on the south part of the said Charles river, or 
of any, or every part thereof; and also all and singular the 
lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying and being within the 
space of three English miles to the southward of the southern- 
most part of the said bay called Massachusetts, alias Mattachu- 
setts, alias Massatusetts bay ; and also all those lands and hered- 
itaments whatsoever, which lie, and be within the space of three 
English miles to the northward of the said river called Mono- 
mack, alias Merrimack, or to the northward of any and every part 
thereof, and all lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying within 
the limits aforesaid, north and south in latitude and breadth, and 
in length and longitude, of and within all the breadth aforesaid, 



308 APPENDIX. 

throughout the main lands there, from the Atlantic and west- 
ern sea and ocean on the east part, to the south sea on the west 
part ; and all lands and grounds, place and places, soils, woods 
and wood grounds, havens, ports, rivers, waters, fishings, and 
hereditaments whatsoever, lying within the said bounds and 
limits, and every part and parcel thereof ; and also all islands 
lying in America aforesaid, in the said seas or either of them 
on the western or eastern coasts or parts of the said tracts of 
land, by the said indenture mentioned to be given, granted, 
bargained, sold, enfeoffed, aliened, and confirmed, or any of 
them ; and also all mines and minerals, as well royal mines of 
gold and silver, as other mines and minerals whatsoever, in the 
said lands and premises, or any part thereof ; and all jurisdic- 
tions, rights, royalties, liberties, freedoms, immunities, privileges, 
franchises, preeminences, and commodities whatsoever, which 
'Jiey, the said council established at Plymouth, in the county of 
Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering, and governing of New 
England in America, then had, or might use, exercise, or enjoy, 
in or within the said lands and premises by the said indenture 
mentioned to be given, granted, bargained, sold, enfeoffed, and 
confirmed, or in, or within any part or parcel thereof : To have 
and to hold, the said part of New England in America, which 
lies and extends and is abutted as aforesaid, and every part 
and parcel thereof; and all the said islands, rivers, ports, 
havens, waters, fishings, mines, minerals, jurisdictions, fran- 
chises, royalties, liberties, privileges, commodities, heredita- 
ments, and premises whatsoever, with the appurtenances unto 
the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, Thomas South- 
cott, John Humfrey, John Endecott, and Simon Whetcombe, 
their heirs and assigns, and their associates, to the only proper 
and absolute use and behoof of the said Sir Henry Rosewell, 



APPENDIX. 309 

Sir John Younge, Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, John 
Endecott and Simon Whetcombe, their heirs and assigns, and 
their associates for ever more ; to be holden of us, our heirs 
and successors, as of our manor of East-Greenwich, in tlie 
county of Kent, in free and common soccage, and not in capite, 
nor by kniglit's service ; Yielding and paying therefor unto us, 
our heirs and successors, the fifth part of the ore of gold and 
silver, which shall from time to time, and at all times hereafter, 
happen to be found, gotten, had, and obtained in any of the 
said lands, within the said limits, or in or within any part 
thereof, for, and in satisfaction of all manner duties, demands, 
and services whatsoever to be done, made, or paid to us, our 
heirs or successors, as in and by the said recited indenture 
more at large may appear. Now know ye, that we, at the 
humble suit and petition of the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir 
John Younge, Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, John Ende- 
cott, and Simon Whetcombe, and of others whom they have 
associated unto them. Have, for divers good causes and con- 
siderations, us moving, granted and confirmed, and by these 
presents of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere 
motion, do grant and confirm unto the said Sir Henry Rose- 
well, Sir John Younge, Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, 
John Endecott, and Simon Whetcombe, and to their associates 
hereafter named; (videlicet) Sir Richard Saltonstall, Knight, 
Isaac Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, Matthew Cradock, 
George Harwood, Increase Nowell, Richard Perry, Richard 
Bellingham, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus 
Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuel 
Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William Vassall, William Pinchion, 
and George Foxcrofte, their heirs and assigns, all the said part 
of New England in America, lying and extending between the 



3IO APPENDIX. 

bounds and limits in the said recited indenture expressed, and 
all lands and grounds, place and places, soils, woods and wood 
grounds, havens, ports, rivers, waters, mines, minerals, jurisdic- 
tions, rights, royalties, liberties, freedoms, immunities, privi- 
leges, franchises, preeminences, hereditaments, and commodities 
whatsoever, to them the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John 
Younge, Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, John Endecott, and 
Simon Whetcombe, their heirs and assigns, and to their associ- 
ates, by the said recited indenture, given, granted, bargained, 
sold, enfeoffed, aliened, and confirmed, or mentioned, or in- 
tended thereby to be given, granted, bargained, sold, enfeoffed, 
aliened, and confirmed : To have and to hold, the said part of 
New England in America, and other the premises hereby men- 
tioned to be granted and confirmed, and every part and parcel 
thereof with the appurtenances, to the said Sir Henry Rosewell, 
Sir John Younge. Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, 
John Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaac John- 
son, Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniel Wright, 
Samuel Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas 
Adams, John Browne, Samuel Browne, Thomas Hutchins, 
Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, Matthew Cradock, George Har- 
wood. Increase Nowell, William Vassall, William Pinchion, and 
George Foxcrofte, their heirs and assigns for ever, to their only 
proper and absolute use and behoof for evermore ; to be holden 
of us, our heirs and successors, as of our manor of East-Green- 
wich aforesaid, in free and common soccage, and not in cap^ite, 
nor by knight's service ; and also yielding and paying therefor 
to us, our heirs and successors, the fifth part only of all ore of 
gold and silver, which from time to time, and at all times here- 
after shall be there gotten, had, or obtained, for all services, 
exactions and demands whatsoever, accordmg to the tenure and 



APPENDIX. 3 1 1 

reservation in the said recited indenture expressed. And 
further, know ye, that of our more especial grace, certain knowl- 
edge, and mere motion, We have given and granted, and by 
these presents, do for us, our heirs and successors, give and 
grant under the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, 
Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, 
John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaac Johnson, Samuel 
Aldersey, John Ven, Matthew Cradock, George Harwood, In- 
crease Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniel 
Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, 
Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuel Browne, Thomas Hutch- 
ins, William Vassall, William Pinchion, and George Foxcrofte, 
their heirs and assigns, all that part of New England in America, 
which lies and extends between a great river there, commonly 
called Monomack River, alias Merrimack River, and a certain 
other river there, called Charles River, being in the bottom of 
a certain bay there, commonly called Massachusetts, alias Matta- 
chusetts, alias Massatusetts Bay ; and also all and singular those 
lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying within the space of 
three English miles on the south part of the said river, called 
Charles River, or of any or every part thereof : and also all and 
singular the lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying and 
being within the space of three English miles to the southward 
of the southernmost part of the said bay, called Massachusetts, 
alias Mattachusetts, alias Massatusetts Bay : and also all those 
lands and hereditaments whatsoever, which lie and be within 
the space of three English miles to the northward of the said 
river, called Monomack, alias Merrimack, or to the northward 
of any and every part thereof, and all lands and hereditaments 
whatsoever, lying within the limits aforesaid, north and south 
in latitude and breadth, and in length and longitude, of and 



312 APPENDIX. 

within all the breadth aforesaid, throughout the main lands 
there, from the Atlantic and western sea and ocean on the east 
part, to the south sea on the west part ; and all lands and 
grounds, place and places, soils, woods, and wood -grounds, 
havens, ports, rivers, waters, and hereditaments whatsoever, 
lying within the said bounds and limits, and every part and 
parcel thereof ; and also all islands in America aforesaid, in the 
said seas, or either of them, on the western or eastern coasts, 
or parts of the said tract of lands hereby mentioned to be given 
and granted, or any of them ; and all mines and minerals, as 
well royal mines of gold and silver, as other mines and min- 
erals whatsoever, in the said lands or premises, or any part 
thereof, and free liberty of fishing in or within any the rivers or 
waters within the bounds and limits aforesaid, and the seas 
thereunto adjoining ; and all fishes, royal fishes, whales, balan, 
sturgeons, and other fishes of what kind or nature soever, that 
shall at any time hereafter be taken in or within the said seas 
or waters, or any of them, by the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir 
John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, John 
Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaac Johnson, 
Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, Matthew Cradock, George Har 
wood. Increase Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, 
Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas 
Goffe, Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuel Browne, Thomas 
Hutchins, William Vassall, William Pinchion, and George Fox- 
crofte, their heirs or assigns, or by any other person or persons 
whatsoever there inhabiting by them, or any of them, to be 
appointed to fish therein. Provided always. That if the said 
lands, islands, or any other the premises herein before men- 
tioned, and by these presents intended and meant to be granted, 
were at the time of the granting of the said former letters - patent. 



APPENDIX. 3 1 3 

dated the third day of November, in the eighteenth year of our 
said dear father's reign aforesaid, actually possessed or inhab- 
ited by any other christian prince or state, or were within the 
bounds, limits or territories of that southern colony, then before 
granted by our said late father, to be planted by divers of his 
loving subjects in the south parts of America, That then this 
present grant shall not extend to any such parts or parcels 
thereof, so formerly inhabited, or lying within the bounds of 
the southern plantation as aforesaid, but as to those parts or 
parcels so possessed or inhabited by such christian prince or 
state, or being within the bounds aforesaid shall be utterly void, 
these presents, or any thing therein contained, to the contrary 
notwithstanding. To have and to hold, possess and enjoy the 
said parts of New England in America, which lie, extend, and 
are abutted as aforesaid, and every part or parcel thereof; and 
all the islands, rivers, ports, havens, waters, fishings, fishes, 
mines, minerals, jurisdictions, franchises, royalties, liberties, 
privileges, commodities, and premises whatsoever, with the ap- 
purtenances, unto the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, 
Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, 
John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaac Johnson, Samuel 
Aldersey, John Ven, Matthew Cradock, George Harwood, In- 
crease Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniel 
Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, 
Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuel Browne, Thomas Hutch- 
ins, William Vassall, William Pinchion, and George Foxcrofte, 
their heirs and assigns for ever, to the only proper and absolute 
use and behoof of the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John 
Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, John 
Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaac Johnson, 
Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, Matthew Cradock, George 



314 APPENDIX. 

Harwood, Increase Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard Belling- 
ham, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, 
Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuel Browne, 
Thomas Hutchins, William Vassall, William Pinchion, and 
George Foxcrofte, their heirs and assigns for evermore : 
To be holden of us, our heirs and successors, as of our 
manor of East-Greenwich, in our county of Kent, within our 
realm of England, in free and common soccage, and not 
in capite, nor by knight's service ; and also yielding and 
paying therefor to us, our heirs and successors, the fifth 
part only of all ore of gold and silver, which from time to time, 
and at all times hereafter, shall be there gotten, had, or 
obtained, for all services, exactions, and demands whatsoever; 
provided, always, and our express will and meaning is, that 
only one-fifth part of the gold and silver ore above mentioned, 
in the whole, and no more be reserved or payable unto us, our 
heirs and successors, by colour or virtue of these presents, the 
double reservations or rentals aforesaid, or anything herein 
contained notwithstanding. And forasmuch, as the good and 
prosperous success of the plantation of the said parts of New 
England aforesaid intended by the said Sir Henry Rosewell, 
Sir John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, 
John Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaac 
Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, Matthew Cradock, 
George Harwood, Increase Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard 
Bellingham, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus 
Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuel 
Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William Vassall, William Pinchion, 
and George Foxcrofte, to be speedily set upon, cannot but 
chiefly depend, next under the blessing of Almighty God, and 
the support of our royal authority upon the good government 



APPENDIX. 3 I 5 

of the same, to the end that the affairs and businesses which 
from time to time shall happen and arise concerning the said 
lands, and the plantation of the same may be the better man- 
aged and ordered, we have further hereby of our especial grace, 
certain knowledge and mere motion, given, granted and con- 
firmed, and for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant, and 
confirm unto our said trusty and well-beloved subjects Sir 
Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, 
Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, John Endicott, Simon 
Whetcombe, Isaac Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, 
Matthew Cradock, George Harwood, Increase Nowell, Richard 
Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Vassal!, 
Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adams, John 
Browne, Samuel Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William Vassall, 
William Pinchion, and George Foxcrofte. And for us, our 
heirs and successors, we will and ordain that the said Sir 
Henry Rosewell, Sir John Young, Sir Richard Saltonstall, 
Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon 
Whetcombe, Isaac Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, 
Matthew Cradock, George Harwood, Increase Noell, Richard 
Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Vassall, 
Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adams, John 
Browne, Samuel Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William Vassall, 
William Pinchion, and George Foxcrofte, and all such others 
as shall hereafter be admitted and made free of the company 
and society hereafter mentioned, shall from time to time, and 
at all times forever hereafter be, by virtue of these presents, 
one body corporate and politick in fact and name, by the name 
of the Governor and Company of the Mattachusetts Bay in 
New England, and them by the name of the Governor and 
Company of the Mattachusetts Bay in New England, one body 



3 1 6 APPENDIX. 

politick and corporate, in deed, fact and name ; We do for us^ 
our heirs and successors, make, ordain, constitute, and confirm 
by these presents, and by that name they shall have perpetual 
succession, and that by the same name they and their succes- 
sors shall and may be capable and enabled as well to implead, 
and to be impleaded, and to prosecute, demand, and answer, 
and be answered unto, in all and singular suits, causes, quar- 
rels, and actiorts, of what kind or nature soever. And also to 
have, take, possess, acquire, and purchase any lands, tene- 
ments, or hereditaments, or any goods or chattels, and the 
same to lease, grant, demise, alien, bargain, sell, and dispose 
of as other our liege people of this our realm of England, or 
any other corporation or body politick of the same may law- 
fully do. And further, that the said governor and company, 
and their successors, may have forever one common seal, to be 
used in all causes and occasions of the said company, and the 
same seal may alter, change, break, and new make, from time 
to time at their pleasures. And our will and pleasure is, and 
we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors, ordain and 
grant, that from henceforth forever, there shall be one Gov- 
ernor, one Deputy Governor, and eighteen Assistants of the 
same company, to be from time to time constituted, elected 
and chosen out of the freemen of the said company, for the 
time being, in such manner and form as hereafter in these 
presents is expressed, which said officers shall apply them- 
selves to take care for the best disposing and ordering of the 
general business and affairs of, for, and concerning the said 
lands and premises hereby mentioned to be granted and the 
plantation thereof, and the government of the people there. 
And for the better execution of our royal pleasure and grant 
in this behalf, we do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and 



APPENDIX. 3 I 7 

successors, nominate, ordain, make, and constitute, our well- 
beloved the said Matthew Cradock, to be the first and present 
Governor of the said company, and the said Thomas Goffe, to 
be Deputy Governor of the said company, and the said Sir 
Richard Saltonstall, Isaac Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John 
Ven, John Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, 
Increase Noell, Richard Pery, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel 
Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Adams, Thomas 
Hutchins, John Browne, George Foxcrofte, William Vassall 
and William Pinchion to be the present Assistants of the said 
Company, to continue in the said several offices respectively for 
such time, and in such manner, as in and by these presents is 
hereafter declared and appointed. And further, we will, and by 
these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do ordain and 
grant That the governor of the said company for the time being, or 
in his absence by occasion of sickness or otherwise, the deputy 
governor for the time being, shall have authority from time to 
time upon all occasions, to give order for the assembling of 
the said company, and calling them together to consult and 
advise of the businesses and affairs of the said company, and 
that the said governor, deputy governor, and assistants of the 
said company, for the time being, shall or may once every 
month, or oftener at their pleasures, assemble and hold and 
keep a court or assembly of themselves, for the better ordering 
and directing of their affairs, and that any seven or more per- 
sons of the assistants, together with the governor, or deputy 
governor so assembled, shall be said, taken, held, and reputed 
to be, and shall be a full and sufficient court or assembly of 
the said company, for the handling, ordering, and despatching 
of all such businesses and occurrences as shall from time to 
time happen, touching or concerning the said company or 



3l8 APPENDIX. 

plantation ; and that there shall or may be held and kept by 
the governor, or deputy governor of the said company, and 
seven or more of the said assistants for the time being, upon 
every last Wednesday in Hilary, Easter, Trinity, and Michas 
terms respectively for ever, one great general and solemn 
assembly, which four general assemblies shall be styled and 
called the four great and general courts of the said company ; 
in all and every, or any of which said great and general courts 
so assembled, we do for us, our heirs and successors, give and 
grant to the said governor and company, and their successors, 
that the governor, or in his absence, the deputy governor of 
the said company for the time being, and such of the assist- 
ants and freemen of the said company as shall be present, or 
the greater number of them so assembled, whereof the gov- 
ernor or deputy governor and six of the assistants at the least to 
be seven, shall have full power and authority to choose, nomi- 
nate, and appoint, such and so many others as they shall think 
fit, and that shall be willing to accept the same, to be free of 
the said company and body, and them into the same to admit ; 
and to elect and constitute such officers as they shall think fit 
and requisite, for the ordering, managing, and despatching of 
the affairs of the said governor and company, and their suc- 
cessors; and to make laws and ordinances for the good and 
welfare of the said company, and for the government and or- 
dering of the said lands and plantation, and the people inhabit- 
ing and to inhabit the same, as to them from time to time shall 
be thought meet, so as such laws and ordinances be not con- 
trary or repugnant to the laws and statutes of this our realm of 
England. And our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby 
for us, our heirs and successors, establish and ordain, that 
yearly, once in the year, for ever hereafter, namely, the last 



APPENDIX. 3 1 9 

Wednesday in Easter term, yearly, the governor, deputy gov- 
ernor, and assistants of the said company and all other officers 
of the said company shall be, in the general court or assembly 
to be held for that day or time, newly chosen for the year 
ensuing by such greater part of the said company, for the 
time being, then and there present, as is aforesaid. And if it 
shall happen the present governor, deputy governor, and assist- 
ants, by these presents appointed, or such as shall hereafter be 
newly chosen into their rooms, or any of them, or any other of 
the officers to be appointed for the said company, to die, or to 
be removed from his or their several offices or places before 
the said general day of election (whom we do hereby declare 
for any misdemeanor or defect to be removeable by the gov- 
ernor, deputy governor, assistants, and company, or such 
greater part of them in any of the public courts to be as- 
sembled as is aforesaid) that then, and in every such case, it 
shall and may be lawful, to and for the governor, deputy 
governor, assistants, and company aforesaid, or such greater 
part of them so to be assembled as is aforesaid, in any of their 
assemblies, to proceed to a new election of one or more others 
of their company in the room or place, rooms or places of such 
officer or officers so dying or removed according to their dis- 
cretions, and, immediately upon and after such election and 
elections made of such governor, deputy governor, assistant or 
assistants, or any other officer of the said company, in manner 
and form aforesaid, the authority, office, and power, before 
given to the former governor, deputy governor, or other officer 
and officers so removed, in whose stead and place new shall be 
so chosen, as to him and them, and every of them, cease and 
determine. Provided also, and our will and pleasure is, that 
as well such as are by these presents appointed to be the 



320 APPENDIX. 

present governor, deputy governor, and assistants of the said 
company, as those that shall succeed them, and all other officers 
to be appointed and chosen as aforesaid, shall, before they 
undertake the execution of their said offices and places respect 
tively, take their corporal oaths for the due and faithful per- 
formance of their duties in their several offices and places 
before such person or persons as are by these presents here- 
under appointed to take and receive the same ; that is to say, 
the said Matthew Cradock, who is hereby nominated and ap- 
pointed the present governor of the said company, shall take the 
said oaths before one or more of the masters of our court of 
chancery for the time being, unto which master or masters 
of the chancery, we do by these presents give full power 
and authority to take and administer the said oath to the said 
governor accordingly; and after the said governor shall be 
so sworn, then the said deputy governor and assistants, before 
by these presents nominated and appointed, shall take the said 
several oaths to their offices and places respectively belonging, 
before the said Matthew Cradock, the present governor, so 
formerly sworn as aforesaid. And every such person as shall 
be at the time of the annual election, or otherwise, upon death 
or removal, be appointed to be the new governor of the said 
company, shall take the oaths to that place belonging, before 
the deputy governor, or two of the assistants of the said com- 
pany at the least, for the time being : and the new elected 
deputy governor and assistants, and all other officers to be 
hereafter chosen as aforesaid from time to time, to take the 
oaths to their places respectively belonging, before the governor 
of the said company for the time being, unto which said gov- 
ernor, deputy governor, and assistants, we do by these presents 
give full power and authority to give and administer the said 



APPENDIX. 3 2 1 

oaths respectively, according to our true meaning herein before 
declared, without any commission or further warrant to be had 
and obtained of us, our heirs or successors, in that behalf. And 
we do further, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and 
mere motion, for us, our heu-s and successors, give and grant 
to the said governor and company, and their successors for ever 
by these presents, that it shall be lawful and free for them and 
their assigns, at all and every time and times hereafter, out of 
any our realms or dominions whatsoever, to take, lead, carry, 
and transport, for and into their voyages, and for and towards 
the said plantation in New England, all such and so many of 
our loving subjects, or any other strangers that will become 
our loving subjects, and live under our allegiance, as shall will- 
ingly accompany them in the same voyages and plantation ; and 
also shipping, armour, weapons, ordnance, munition, powder, 
shot, corn, victuals, and all manner of clothing, implements, 
furniture, beasts, cattle, horses, mares, merchandizes, and all 
other things necessary for the said plantation, and for their use 
and defence, and for trade with the people there, and in pass- 
ing and returning to and fro, any law or statute to the contrary 
hereof in any wise notwithstanding, and without paying or 
yielding any custom or subsidy, either inward or outward, to us, 
our heirs or successors, for the same, by the space of seven 
years from the day of the date of these presents. Provided, 
that none of the said persons be such as shall be hereafter by 
especial name restrained by us, our heirs or successors. And, 
for their further encouragement, of our especial grace and 
favour, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, 
yield and grant to the said governor and company, and their 
successors, and every of them, their factors and assigns, that 
they and every of them shall be free and quit from all taxes, 



322 APPENDIX. 

subsidies, and customs, in New England, for the like space of 
seven years, and from all taxes and impositions for the space of 
twenty and one years, upon all goods and merchandizes at any 
time or times hereafter, either upon importation thither, or ex- 
portation from thence into our realm of England, or into any 
other our dominions by the said governor and company, and 
their successors, their deputies, factors, and assigns, or any of 
them ; except only the five pounds per centum due for custom 
upon all such goods and merchandizes as after the said seven 
years shall be expired, shall be brought or imported into our 
realm of England, or any other of our dominions, according to 
the ancient trade of merchants, which five pounds per centum 
only being paid, it shall be thenceforth lawful and free for the 
said adventurers, the same goods and merchandizes to export 
and carry out of our said dominions into foreign parts, without 
any custom, tax, or other duty to be paid to us, our heirs or 
successors, or to any other officers or ministers of us, our heirs 
and successors. Provided, that the said goods and merchan- 
dizes be shipped out within thirteen months, after their first 
landing within any part of the said dominions. And we do for 
us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said gov- 
ernor and company, and their successors, that whensoever, or 
so often as any custom or subsidy shall grow due or payable 
unto us, our heirs, or successors, according to the limitation and 
appointment aforesaid, by reason of any goods, wares, or mer- 
chandizes to be shipped out, or any return to be made of any 
goods, wares, or merchandize unto or from the said parts of 
New England hereby mentioned to be granted as aforesaid, or 
any the lands or territories aforesaid, that then, and so often, 
and in such case, the farmers, customers, and officers of our 
customs of England and Ireland, and every of them for the 



APPENDIX. 323 

time being, upon request made to them by the said governor 
and company, or their successors, factors, or assigns, and upon 
convenient security to be given in that behalf, shall give and 
allow unto the said governor and company, and their successors, 
and to all and every person and persons free of that company, 
as aforesaid, six months time for the payment of the one half of 
all such custom and subsidy as shall be due and payable unto 
us, our heirs and successors, for the same ; for which these our 
letters patent, or the duplicate, or the enrolment thereof, shall 
be unto our said officers a sufficient warrant and discharge. 
Nevertheless, our will and pleasure is, that if any of the said 
goods, wares, and merchandise, which be, or shall be at any time 
hereafter landed or exported out of any of our realms aforesaid, 
and shall be shipped with a purpose not to be carried to the 
parts of New England aforesaid, but to some other place, that 
then such payment, duty, custom, imposition, or forfeiture, shall 
be paid, or belong to us, our heirs and successors, for the said 
goods, wares and merchandize, so fraudulently sought to be trans- 
ported, as if this our grant had not been made nor granted. 
And we do further will, and by these presents, for us, our 
heirs, and successors, firmly enjoin and command, as well the 
treasurer, chancellor and barons of the exchequer, of us, our 
heirs and successors, as also all and singular the customers, farm- 
ers, and collectors of the customs, subsidies, and impost, and 
other the officers and ministers of us, our heirs and successors 
whatsoever, for the time being, that they and every of them, 
upon the shewing forth unto them of these letters patent, or 
the duplicate or exemplification of the same, without any other 
writ or warrant whatsoever from us, our heirs or successors, to 
be obtained or sued forth, do and shall make full, whole, entire, 
and due allowance and clear discharge unto the said governor 



324 APPENDIX. 

and company, and their successors, of all customs, subsidies, 
impositions, taxes and duties whatsoever, that shall or may 
be claimed by us, our heirs and successors, of or from the 
said governor and company, and their successors, for or by 
reason of the said goods, chattels, wares, merchandizes, and 
premises to be exported out of our said dominions, or any 
of them, into any part of the said lands or premises hereby 
mentioned, to be given, granted, and confirmed, or for, or by 
reason of any of the said goods, chattels, wares, or merchan- 
dizes to be imported from the said lands and premises hereby 
mentioned, to be given, granted, and confirmed into any of our 
said dominions, or any part thereof as aforesaid, excepting only 
the said five pounds per centum hereby reserved and payable 
after the expiration of the said term of seven years as aforesaid, 
and not before : And these our letters patent, or the enrolment, 
duplicate, or exemplification of the same shall be for ever here- 
after, from time to time, as well to the treasurer, chancellor and 
barons of the exchequer of us, our heirs and successors, as to 
all and singular the customers, farmers, and collectors of the 
customs, subsidies, and imposts of us, our heirs and succes- 
sors, and all searchers, and other the ofBcers and ministers 
whatsoever of us, our heirs and successors, for the time being, 
a sufficient warrant and discharge in this behalf. And further 
our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and 
successors, ordain and declare, and grant to the said governor 
and company, and their successors, that all and every the sub- 
jects of us, our heirs or successors, which shall go to and inhabit 
within the said lands and premises hereby mentioned to be 
granted, and every of their children which shall happen to be 
born there, or on the seas in going thither, or returning from 
thence, shall have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of 



APPENDIX. 325 

free and natural subjects within any of the dominions of us, 
our heirs or successors, to all intents, constructions, and pur- 
poses whatsoever, as if they and every of them were born 
within the realm of England. And that the governor and dep- 
uty governor of the said company for the time being, or either 
of them, and any two or more of such of the said assistants as 
shall be thereunto appointed by the said governor and com- 
pany at any of their courts or assemblies to be held as afore- 
said, shall and may at all times, and from time to time hereafter, 
have full power and authority to minister and give the oath and 
oaths of supremacy and allegiance, or either of them, to all and 
every person and persons, which shall at any time or times 
hereafter go or pass to the lands and premises hereby mentioned 
to be granted to inhabit in the same. And we do of our further 
grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, give and grant to 
the said governor and company, and their successors, that it 
shall and may be lawful, to and for the governor or deputy gov- 
ernor, and such of the assistants and freemen of the said com- 
pany for the time being as shall be assembled in any of their 
general courts aforesaid, or in any other courts to be specially 
summoned and assembled for that purpose, or the greater part 
of them (whereof the governor or deputy governor, and six of 
the assistants to be always seven) from time to time, to make, 
ordain, and establish all manner of wholesome and reasonable 
orders, laws, statutes, and ordinances, directions, and instruc- 
tions, not contrary to the laws of this our realm of England, as 
well for settling of the forms and ceremonies of government 
and magistracy, fit and necessary for the said plantation, and 
the inhabitants there, and for naming and settling of all sorts 
of ofificers, both superiour and inferiour, which they shall find 
needful for that government and plantation, and the distin- 



326 APPENDIX. 

guishing and setting forth of the several duties, powers, and 
limits of every such office and place, and the forms of such 
oaths warrantable by the laws and statutes of this our realm 
of England, as shall be respectively ministered unto them for 
the execution of the said several offices and places ; as also for 
the disposing and ordering of the elections of such of the said 
officers as shall be annual, and of such others, as shall be to 
succeed in case of death or removal, and ministering the said 
oaths to the new elected officers, and for mipositions of lawful 
fines, mulcts, imprisonment, or other lawful correction, accord 
ing to the course of other corporations in this our realm of 
England, and for the directing, ruling, and disposing of all other 
matters and things, whereby our said people inhabitants there, 
may be so religiously, peaceably, and civilly governed, as their 
good life and orderly conversation, may win and incite the natives 
of country, to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God 
and Saviour of mankind, and the christian faith, which in our 
royal intention, and the adventurers free profession, is the 
principal end of this plantation. Willing, commanding, and 
requiring, and by these presents for us, our heirs, and suc- 
cessors, ordaining and appointing, that all such orders, laws, 
statutes and ordinances, instructions and directions, as shall be 
so made by the governor, or deputy governor of the said com- 
pany and such of the assistants and freemen as aforesaid, and 
published in writing, under their common seal, shall be care- 
fully and duly observed, kept, performed, and put in execution, 
according to the true intent and meaning of the same ; and 
these our letters patent, of the duplicate or exemplification 
thereof, shall be to all and every such officers, superiour and 
inferiour, from time to time, for the putting of the same orders, 
laws, statutes, and ordinances, instructions, and directions, in 



APPENDIX. 327 

due execution against us, our heirs and successors, a sufficent 
warrant and discharge. And we do further, for us, our heirs 
and successors, give and grant to the said governor and com- 
pany, and their successors by these presents, that all and every 
such chief commanders, captains, governors, and other officers 
and ministers, as by the said orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, 
instructions, or directions of the said governor and company 
for the time being, shall be from time to tmie hereafter em- 
ployed either in the government of the said inhabitants and 
plantation, or in the way by sea thither, or from thence, 
according to the natures and limits of their offices and places 
respectively, shall from time to time hereafter forever, within 
the precincts and parts of New England hereby mentioned to be 
granted and confirmed, or in the way by sea thither, or from 
thence, have full and absolute power and authority to correct, 
punish, pardon, govern, and rule all such the subjects of us, 
our heirs and successors, as shall from time to time adventure 
themselves in any voyage thither or from thence, or that 
shall at any time hereafter, inhabit within the precincts and 
parts of New-England aforesaid, according to the orders, laws, 
ordinances, instructions, and directions aforesaid, not being 
repugnant to the laws and statutes of our realm of England 
as aforesaid. And we do further, for us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors, give and grant to the said governor and company, and 
their successors, by these presents, that it shall and may be 
lawful, to and for the chief commanders, governors, and officers 
of the said company for the time being, who shall be resident 
in the said part of New England in America, by these 
presents granted, and others there inhabiting by their appoint- 
ment and direction, from time to time, and at all times here- 
after for their special defence and safety, to encounter, expulse. 



328 APPENDIX. 

repel, and resist by force of arms, as well by sea as by land^ 
and by all fitting ways and means whatsoever, all such person 
and persons, as shall at any time hereafter, attempt or enter- 
prise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance to the 
said plantation or inhabitants, and to take and surprise by all 
ways and means whatsoever, all and every such person and 
persons, with their ships, armour, munition, and other goods, 
as shall in hostile manner invade or attempt the defeating, of 
the said plantation, or the hurt of the said company and 
inhabitants : Nevertheless, our will and pleasure is, and we do 
hereby declare to all Christian kings, princes and states, that 
if any person or persons which shall hereafter be of the said 
company or plantation, or any other by license or appointment 
of the said governor and company for the time being, shall at 
any time or times hereafter, rob, or spoil, by sea or by land, or 
do any hurt, violence, or unlawful hostility to any of the sub- 
jects of us, our heirs or successors, or any of the subjects of 
any prince or state, being then in league and amity with us, 
our heirs and successors, and that upon such injury done and 
upon just complaint of such prince or state or their subjects, 
we, our heirs and successors shall make open proclamation 
within any of the parts within our realm of England com- 
modious for that purpose, that the person or persons having 
committed any such robbery or spoil, shall within the term 
limited by such a proclamation, make full restitution or satis- 
faction of all such injuries done, so as the said princes or 
others so complaining, may hold themselves fully satisfied and 
contented ; and that if the said person or persons, having 
committed such robbery or spoil, shall not make, or cause to 
be made satisfaction accordingly, within such time so to be 
limited, that then it shall be lawful for us, our heirs and sue- 



APPENDIX. 329 

cessors, to put the said person or persons out of our allegiance 
and protection, and that it shall be lawful and free for all 
princes to prosecute with hostility, the said offenders, and every 
of them, their and every of their procurers, aiders, abettors, and 
comforters in that behalf : Provided also, and our express will 
and pleasure is, and we do by these presents for us, our heirs 
and successors ordain and appoint that these presents shall 
not in any manner enure, or be taken to abridge, bar, or hinder 
any of our loving subjects whatsoever, to use and exercise the 
trade of fishing upon that coast of New England in America, by 
these presents mentioned to be granted ; but that they, and 
every, or any of them, shall have full and free power and liberty 
to continue and use their said trade of fishing upon the said 
coast, in any the seas thereunto adjoining or any arms of the 
seas or salt water rivers where they have been wont to fish, and 
to build and set up upon the lands by these presents granted, 
such wharves, stages, and work-houses as shall be necessary for 
the salting, drying, keeping, and packing up of their fish, to be 
taken or gotten upon that coast ; and to cut down, and take such 
trees and -other materials there growing, or being, or shall be 
needful for that purpose, and for all other necessary casements, 
helps, and advantage concerning their said trade of fishing there, 
in such manner and form as they have been heretofore at any 
time accustomed to do, without making any wilful waste or spoil, 
anything in these presents contained to the contrary notwith- 
standing. And we do further, for us, our heirs and successors, 
ordain and grant to the said governor and company, and their 
successors by these presents, that these our letters patent shall 
be firm, good, effectual, and available in all things, and to all 
intents and constructions of law, according to our true meaning 
hereinbefore declared, and shall be construed, reputed, and 



330 APPENDIX. 

adjudged in all cases most favourably on the behalf, and for 
the benefit and behoof of the said governor and company and 
their successors; although express mention of the true yearly 
value or certainty of the premises, or any of them, or of any 
other gifts or grants, by us or any of our progenitors or prede- 
cessors to the aforesaid governor or company before this time 
made, in these presents is not made ; or any statute, act, ordi- 
nance, provision, proclamation, or restraint to the contrary 
thereof, heretofore had, made, published, ordained, or provided, 
or any other matter, cause, or thing whatsoever to the contrary 
thereof in any wise notwithstanding. 

In witness whereof, we have caused these our letters to be 
made patent. 

Witness ourself, at Westminster, the fourth day of March, 
in the fourth year of our reign. 

Per Breve de Privato Sigillo. 

WOLSELEY. 

Praedictus Matthasus Cradocke Juratus est de Fide et Obe- 
dientia Regi et Successoribus suis, et de Debita Executione 
Officii Gubernatoris juxta Tenorem Praesentium, i8° Martii, 
1628.* Coram me Carolo Ceesare Milite in Cancellaria Mro. 

CHAR. C^SAR. 

The Great Seal of England appendant by a party-coloured 
silk string. 

* 1629, new style. 



INDEX, 

Abbott, Archbishop of Canterbury, 102. 
Abigail, The, 39. 

Abousett River, see Saugus River. 
Acadia, 94, 234. 

Adams, Three Episodes, 25, 28 (note). 
Adams, Thomas, 39, 60, 62. 
Adventurers, allotment of land, 47. 
Agawam, see Ipswich. 
Aldersey, Samuel, 39, 40, 62. 
Alford, Eng., 132. 
Allen, Bozone, 253, 256. 
Allen, Rev. Mr., 262, 269. 
Allen, William, 40 [note). 
Ambrose, The, 67. 
Amsterdam, 3. 
Anabaptists, 52. 

Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company, 167. 
Andrews, Samuel, 181 [note). 
Appolonius, William, 269. 
Aquedneck, see Newport. 
Arbella, The, 55, 67,68, 72. 
Arms, Division of. Ordered, 107. 
Arnold, William, 229. 
Aspinwail, banished, 149. 

Assembly of divines and others, 264, see Westminster Assembly. 
Assistants (magistrates), 58, 207, 241. 

Assistants (court of), 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83; quorum reduced, 84, 88, 90; 
right to lay taxes, 91, 96, 100. 

Bachelor, Stephen, Rev., 92. 
Baillie, 17, on Independents, 266. 
Baker's Island, 72. 



332 INDEX. 

Balch, John, 40 {note). 

Balston, Sergt., 150. 

Banks, Sir John, Atty-Gen., 164. 

Barnstable, 17. 

Bass River, 37. 

Bateman, William, Inquest on, 79. 

Baxter, 261. 

Beginning under Winthrop, 72. 

Bellingham, Richard, 39, 42, 108; Dep. Gov., 113, 125; Gov., 180, 215, 

246. 
Beverly, 'i^']. 

Bishop, Townsend, 207 {note). 
Blackstone (Blaxton), William, 29, 45. 
Blackstone Commentaries, 97 {note). 
Blackstone River, 29. 
Blockhouse, 21, 22. 
Block Island, 130, 131. 
Boston, Eng., 132. 
Boston, 28, 74, 75, 106, 107, 108; arrival of Vane and Peters, 123, 124; 

ship built, 177 ; local court established, 207, 208. 
Boston Bay, 38, 39. 
Bourne, Nehemiah, 270. 
Bradford, William, Gov. of Plymouth, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 

51 [note) ; represents Plymouth at the Cambridge synod, 288. 
Bradstreet, Simon, 63, loS, 160, 215, 218, 248, 250. 
Bratcher, Austin, 79. 
Brereton, Sir William, 38, 48. 
Breviate of Laws, 197. 

Brewster, William, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 {note), 9, 11. 
Bridge, William, 264. 
Bright, Francis, 44, 49, 50, 75. 
Bristol, Eng., 67, 180, 273. 
Brown, John and Samuel, 39, 44, 52, 53, 54. 
Brown, 87. 

Brownists, 2, see Separatists. 
Buckley, 270. 
Burroughs, Jeremiah, 264. 
Burton, Thomas, 276. 

Cambridge, Eng., 61. 



INDEX. 333 

Cambridge, 73, 82; ordination of Hooker and Stone, 96 ; ordination of Mr. 
Shepard, 123; Harvard College founded, 191; local court estab- 
lished, 206 — 209 ; synod, 287. 

Cambridge Platform, 285. 

Canonicus, 131. 

Cape Ann, i, 13, 14, 32, 34, 37, 39, 41, no {iiote). 

Cape Cod, 9. 

Carver, John, 5, 9. 

Castle Island, 104; fortified, 106, 127, 129. 

Caxton, Joseph, 40. 

Chalmers, 166, 167, 263 {note), 268 {note). 

Charity, The, 11. 

Charles I., King, 15, 42, 53, 54, 56, 66, 98, 115, 122, 167, 171. 

Charles II., King, 16, 54. 

Charlestown, 28, 30, 41, 50, 73, 75, 76, 106. 

Charter of Massachusetts Bay Colony, see Appendix, certain provisions of 
it, 64, 65, 76 ; right to bring over the charter, 65. 

Childe, 19, 29, 276, charges against, 278, fined, 280, goes to England, 
281. 

Church of England, i, 2, 3, 7, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 68, 69, 70, 152, 171, 191, 
258. 

Church, Congregational, 258, 270, 285, 296, see Independents. 

Church, French Reformed, 6 {note). 

Church, Presbyterian, 267. 

Church system, attempted overthrow of, 276; lack of uniformity in, 285. 

Clark, Jonas, 181 {note). 

Clough, Richard, 79. 

Cocheco, see Dover. 

Coddington, 63, 68, 85, 91, 100, 108, 112, 136, 144, 145. 

Coggeshall disfranchised, 149. 

Collier, 218. 

Colony, foundation of, 31. 

Commissioners, 208, 217, 218, 230. 

Confederation, Articles of, 217 to 226. 

Confession of faith, 4, 51 ; of Westminster Assembly, 296. 

Connecticut, 65, 67, in, 114, 123; Indian ravages in, 153; destruction of 
the Pequots, 153, 162; dispute with Mass., 281. 

Connecticut River, 130, 183. 

Conyhasset Creek, 178. 

Cook, John, 60. 



334 INDEX. 

Cotton, John, i8 {jtote)\ arrival, 96; ordination of, 96; election sermon by^ 
100, 124 {note), 132, 134, 138; reply to Mr. Wilson, 140, 179; re- 
ports code of laws, 195. 251, 259. 261 ; reply to Baillie, 18, 263 {}iote) ; 
aids Independents in England, 269, 285. 

Council for New England, 15, 23, 24 (note), 32, 36, 37, 38, 41 ; divides terri- 
tory, 163; surrenders its charter, 164, 180. 

Counties or shires, 249. 

Court, General, see General Court. 

Court, Quarter, 183; at Springfield, 207, 244; Great Quarter, 207 ; jurisdic- 
tions of, 210. 

Cradock, Mathew, 18, 39, 40, 42 ; Gov., 43, 60, 61, 62, 66, 94; ordered to 
produce charter, 103, 104, 165; letters from, 170, 259. 

Cromwell, 20, 172, 262, 264; appeals for enlistments, 265, 266, 273. 

Cullender, Rose, 302. 

Dand, John, 276 ; charges against by Gen. Ct., 278 ; fined, 280. 

Dartmouth, Eng., ship, 275. 

D'Aulnay and De La Tour, 234. 

Davenport, 42 {note), 44, 147, 179. 

Declaration of Independence, precursor of, 168. 

Dedham, 186, 187. 

Defiance of the King, 99 — no. 

De La Tour, trouble with D'Aulnay, 235 ; requests assistance from Mass., 

236 ; receives aid from Mass., 237 ; bums D'Aulnay's mill, 239 ; 

marries D'Aulnay's widow, 239, 248. 
Devon, Eng., 36. 
Devonshire, Eng., 67. 
Dexter, Thom., 85. 

Dispute between the deputies and assistants, 243, 250, 251. 
Dissenter, first case, 84. 
Dissuader, The, 18 (note). 
Dod, John, 260. 

Dorchester, Eng., 31, 44, 49, 180. 
Dorchester Company, 32, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41. 
Dorchester, Lord, 42. 

Dorchester, 67, 74; fortified, 106; people allowed to remove to Conn., 114. 
Dorrell, John, 38, 45. 
Dorsetshire, Eng., 67. 
Dover, 180; patent, 182. 
Downing, Emanuel, 94. 



INDEX. 335 

Downing, George, 270. 

Doyle on influence of Plymouth, 17 {note), 219. 

Dudley, Thomas, 61, 62, 68, 73, 75, 76; ill-feeling and resignation of, 82, 
83, 85 ; resignation of, declared void, 92 ; complains of Winthrop, 
93; elected Gov., 100, 125; assistant for life, 126, 129, 137, 144,. 
150, 177, 218. 

Dummer, Richard, 92, 113, 136, 144. 

Duny, Amy, 302. 

Dutch, III. 

Duxbury, 16, 20. 

Dyer, Mrs., 297. 

Eames, Lieut., 253. 

East Boston, 28. 

Eastham, 16. 

Eaton, Theophilus, 39, 60, 62, 6^, 218. 

Edict of Nantes, 6 (note). 

Election sermon, 251 — 253. 

Eliot, John, Apostle to the Indians, 92, 160, 288. 

Elizabeth, Queen, 2, 55, 56, 70. 

Emigration, The great, 67 ; stopped, 173. 

Endicott, John, 18, 27, 36; sails from England, 39; arrival, 40, 41, 42, 43 j 
Gov., 44, 45 ; instructions to, 46, 47, 49 ; Gov.'s council, 52, 53, 60, 
66 (note), 72; Justice of Peace, 78, 82 ; fined for assault and battery, 
85; war commissioner, 107, 108, 113; cuts red cross from flag, 
116; censured, 117; sent against Pequots, 130, 131, 207 (note), 209; 
elected Gov., 248, 259. 

England, 3, 7, 12, 18, 19, 21, 22, 41, 44, 49, 52, 57, 62, 63, 64; change of 
policy in granting charters, 66, 67 ; farewell address to the church 
of, 68, 69, 74, 78 ; ans. sent to petition, 95, 1 50 ; threatened inva- 
sion of by the Scots, 171, 184, 234; Mass. Congregationalism in,. 
258, 270. 

Essex County, Disaffection in, 248 — 250; towns of, 249 (note). 

Exeter, Eng., 180. 

Exeter, 180; deputies admitted to Gen. Court, 182. 

Fairfax, 262. 
Farthings, 108. 
Fast, 51, 82. 
Fenwick, 218, 281. 



336 INDEX. 

Fiennes, 264. 

Fishery, established at Cape Ann, 32 ; monopoly to North Virginia Co., 
37 ; off Newfoundland, 104. 

Four Sisters, The, 49. 

Fowle, Thorn., 276. 

Foxcroft, Geo., 39, 60. 

Fox's Point, fortified, 106. 

Freemen, large number apply for admission as, this alarms the governor 
and assistants, restrictive orders passed, 79 — 81 ; further restric- 
tions, class legislation, election of freemen confined to church- 
members, 85 — 87 ; ill feeling toward Court of Assist., 99 — 102 ; 
oath of, 109; demand code of written law, 194, 195; vote by proxy, 
240, 241; proposed that non-freemen have equal power with, 277. 

French, take possession of Acadia, 94, 159, 217. 

Frost, Nicholas, 97. 

Gager, physician, 78. 

Gardiner, Sir Christopher, 29; sentenced to be sent to Eng., 83, 94. 

Gardiner, Lieut., 130, 159. 

Gardiner, Thom., 32. 

Gasco Bay, 182 (note). 

General Court, 54, 58, 60, 63, 66 ; name adopted, 77 ; first qt.-annual ses- 
sion, 79 — 81; gen. training ordered by, 85; first election, 85 — 87; 
illegal order, 90; method of electing officers, 91 ; reelection of Gov- 
ernor and assistants, 95; annual meeting, 95; three days' session, 
loi — 109; Winthrop's reply to, no; request to churches to consult 
regarding a uniform order of discipline, 113; commissioners for 
Connecticut appointed by, 114; annual meeting in 1636, 126; per- 
manent council estab., 126, 127; session in Boston, 134, 137, 138; 
new opinions discussed, 141 ; Court of elections held at Cambridge, 
143, 145; supporters of Ann Hutchinson disfranchised, etc., 149, 
150; session at Cambridge, 160; defiant letter sent to Lords Comm. 
for Plantations, 168 — 170; order on indebtedness, com and other 
products made legal tender, 173, 174; offer bounty for home-made 
cloth, 176; request from elders, 178 ; agents sent to Eng., 179; grants 
a court to Portsmouth and Dover, 182; commission courts at 
Springfield, 183; order regarding powers of towns, 185, 186; for- 
bids wearing of lace, 190, 191; orders towns to establish schools, 
192, 193; appoints comm. to frame code of laws, 195, 196, 197; 
the elders settle disputes between magistrates and deputies, 204, 



INDEX. 357 

205, 206; establishes local courts, 206, 207; purchases law books, 
215; summons Gorton, 229; arraigns and sentences Gorton, 231, 
233; grants freemen leave to vote by proxy, 240, 241 ; divides Com- 
monwealth into shires, 249 [note) ; session of, 251 ; trouble in Hing- 
ham, 253 — 257; sends ministers to Eng., 268; orders of House of 
Commons, 271, 272; sends petition to Parliament against capture 
of vessels in N. E. harbours, 276 ; petition of Vassall and others for 
toleration, 276; petition of Dr. Childe considered, 277, 280; 
remonstrance against appeal of Dr. Childe and others sent to Eng. 
by Winslow, 280; dispute with the Confederate Commissioners, 
282 ; appoints committee to consider Articles of Confederation, 283, 
284; advises uniformity of discipline in churches, 285, 286; calls ch. 
conference in Cambridge, 286, 287 ; Cambridge Platform presented 
to, and approved, 296. 

George, The, 48, 49. 

Gibbons, Capt., 218. 

Gift, The, 78. 

Gloucester, 32. 

Goffe, Thom., 39, 60, 62, 63, 96. 

Goodwin's Hist, of Plymouth, 52. 

Goodwin, Thom., 261, 264. 

Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 23, 24 {note), 28, 30, yj, 38, 94, 163, r66, 180. 

Gorges, John, 38, 48. 

Gorges, Robert, 23, 24. 

Gorton, Samuel, 19, 228; removed to Warwick, 229; complained of by 
Patuxet, 230; captured and taken to Boston, 231; arraigned and 
sentenced, 232, 233; receives authority to occupy Narragansett Bay, 
277, 280. 

Governor, 58 ; power to call meetings of Company, 77 ; elected by ballot, 

113- 
Graves, Thom., 44, 50. 
Gray, Judge, 67 (note). 

Green's History of Eng. People, 262 [note), 265. 
Greensmyth, Stephen, 143. 
Griffen, The, 132. 
Grigson, 218. 

Hacket, Tory Bishop, 262. 

Hale, Sir Mathew, Chief Justice, 263 {note), 302. 

Hampton, 184. 



338 INDEX. 

Handmaid, The, 82. 

Hartford, 153, 155, 159. 

Harvard College, 191. 

Harvard, John, Rev., 191. 

Harwood, Geo., 39. 

Hathorne, 218, 250. 

Haverly, Timothy, 92. 

Hawkins, Capt., 238. 

Haynes, John, 96; war commission, 107, 108; Gov., 113, 125, 218. 

Hector, The, 128, 145. 

Herlakenden, 150. 

Herle, 269. 

Hewson, Geo., 40. 

Hibbins, 179. 

Hibbins, Anne, convicted of witchcraft, 214. 

Higginson, Francis, 18, 44, 49, 50, 51 ; death of, 84. 

Hilton, Edw., 180. 

Hinckley, Gov., of Plymouth, 213 {note). 

Hingham, 240; trouble in train band, 253, 256. 

Hispaniola, 20. 

Hobart, Rev. Peter, 254. 

Hobart, Joshua, 256. 

Hoffe, 145. 

Holland, 3, 9, 19, 43. 

Hooker, Thomas, Rev., arrival of, 96; requests permission to remove to 

Conn., Ill, 112, 146, 179, 262, 269. 
Hopewell, The, 68, 72. 
Hopkins, Richard, 97. 

Hopkins, Commissioner from Connecticut, 218. 
Hough, 113. 
Houghton, 51. 
House, Great, The, 50. 
Houses, 187, 188, 189. 
Hubbard, 66 [note), 192. 
Hudson, William, 270. 
Huguenots, 6 (note). 
Hume, 262. 
Humphrey, John, 36, 39, 60, 61, 62, 63, 91, 94; assistant, loi ; arrival of, 

103; war commissioner, 107, 108, 215. 
Hutchins, Thom., 36, 60. 



INDEX. 339 

Hutchinson's History, 42 (note), 51 (ttote), 73, 213 (note), 259; on ch. gov- 
ernment, 28 5. 

Hutchinson, Anne, arrival of, 132; views on piety, 133; criticises ministers, 
148; banished, 149; expulsion from ch., 151, 228, 297. 

Hutchinson, William, 132. 

Hutchinson, Sergeant, 150. 

Ince, Jonathan, 181 (note). 

Independents, 258, 259, 261, 264; in Eng. sprang from Congregationalists 

in Mass., 258 — 270. 
Indians, 18, 21, 22, 23, 32, 41, 43, 44, 46; satisfaction from Morton, 78; 

Apostle to, 93,97, 115; murder of Oldham, 130; war with, 153 — 

162 ; trade with, 175. 
Ipswich, 79; furnished with ordnance, 108, 198; local court established, 

206 — 209. 

James, King, 3, 5, 36, 56. 

James, Thomas, Rev., 92. 

Jansen, Sir Brian, 63. 

Jeffreys, William, 45, 104. 

Jewell, The, 67, 72. 

Johnson, Edward, Capt., 181, 184, 209. 

Johnson, Isaac, 39, 60, 61, 62, 68, jt, ; death of, 75. 

Johnson, Lady Arabella, death of, 75. 

Jones, Sir William, Att.-Gen., 67, 165. 

Jurisdiction over the New Hampshire towns and Springfield, 163. 

Jury, 79. 

Justice of the Peace, powers of, 78, 208. 

Keayne, Capt., action against, 244, 246. 
Kennebec River, 37, 159. 
King Philip's War, 162. 
King's Colors, 129. 
Knight, Walter, 40 (note). 

Laconia, Company of, 180. 

Laud, 97; Archbishop of Canterbury, 102, 103, 166, 267. 

Law against barratry, 216. 

Lechford, 188, 215. 

Leighton, Dr., punishment for heresy, $7, 98. 



340 INDEX. 

Leverett, John, 270. 

Leverett, Thos., 125. 

Ley, Lord, arrival of, 145. 

Leyden, 3, 8, 10, 16, 19. 

Liberties, The Body of, 194; committees on, 195 — 197; adopted, igS; 

contents, 199 — 203; true intent of, 204; extract from, 293 {note). 
Lincohishire, Eng., 132. 
Lioll, 270. 

Lion's Whelp, The, 49. 
Lion, The, 67, 74, 82, 83, 84, 85. 
Little Island, Little Misery, 72. 
London, 35, 165, 180. 
London Company, 9, 10, 11, 15. 
Long Lsland, 131, 155; Sound, 174. 
Lords. House of, 264, 271. 
Ludlow, Roger, 63, 73; justice of peace, 78; Dep. Gov., 100, 113, 

209. 
Lyford, John, 10, 11, 12; expelled, 13, t^t,, 35, 50. 
Lynn, settlement, 74 ; meeting of ministers, 114. 

Magistrates, see Assistants. 

Magna Charta, 195; Coke on, 215. 

Maine, 163, 181. 

Makworth, 182 [note). 

Marblehead, no (note), 114. 

Mariana, 87. 

Marlborough, Earl of, 145. 

Marriages, 191. 

Marshfield, 16. 

Mary and John, The, 67. 

Mason, John, 37, 67, 94, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 161, 163, 164; death of, 
166, 180. 

Mason, Capt. John, 153, 155, 157, 158, 161. 

Massachusetts Bay Colony, i, 3, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 41, 45, 46, 47, 63, 64, 
65. 67, y^, 124; boundary of claimed, 181 ; proceeded against, 166; 
complaint from Conn, in regard to Springfield, 183; foundation of 
town system, 186; proposes plan for confederation, 217, 218; Con- 
gregationalism in Eng., 258 ; furnishes aid to Eng. Independents, 
270 ; friendly relations with Long Parliament, 27 1 ; petition to House 
of Lords, 271; attempted overthrow of ch. system, 276; dispute 



INDEX. 341 

with Conn, about duties, 281, 283; owes debt of gratitude to mem- 
ory of Winthrop, 303. 

Massachusetts, Charter, 57, 58, 59. 

Masters, John, 89. 

Mather, Richard, Rev., 262. 

Mattapan, see Dorchester. 

Maverick, Samuel, 28, ^t^, 145, 276. 

Mayflower, The, 9, 49, 68, 72. 

Medford, 74. 

Meeting-houses, First, 186. 

Merrimac River, 36, 37, ■^. 

Merry Mount, 25 — -28. 

Miantonomo, 156, 161, 229. 

Middlesex County, 243, 249. 

Ministers, 18, 43, 44, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, ti^\ ordination of Mr. Wilson, 76; 
meet at Boston, 109, 114; question on justice submitted to, 125, 
126; conference with Gen. Ct., 134, 138; attack on Mr. Cotton, 
140, 143; criticised by Anne Hutchinson, 148; adoption of code of 
laws, 198; letter from nonconformist ministers in England, 260, 261; 
in Westminster Assembly, 264; agreed upon manner of exercising 
their ministry before leaving Eng., 18; assist in reformation in 
England, 269. 

Mohegans, 155, 157, 162. 

Monhegan, 32. 

Morell, William, 23 — 25. 

Morton's Memorial, 52 {note). 

Morton, Thomas, 25 — 30. 

Mosaic code, 203. 

Moulton's, Robert, point near, fortified, 106. 

Mystic River, 73, 155, 157 ; fort burned, 158. 

Nahant Cape, 38. 

Nantasket, 33, 49, 67, 121. 

Narragansett Bay, 121, 131, 159. 

Narragansetts, treaty with, 154, 156, 157, 161, 162, 175. 

Naumkeag, Na-humkek, see Salem. 

Naumkeag River, see Bass River. 

Newbury, 92, 114, 240. 

New Castle, Scotland, 262. 

Newfoundland, 37, 167. 



342 INDEX. 

New Hampshire, 38, 163, 181. 

New Haven, 161, 217, 21S. 

Newport, 218; arrival of Gorton, 22S. 

Newtown, see Cambridge. 

Noddle's Island, East Boston, 28, 145. 

Nonconformists, 2, 3, 52, 54, 70, 103. 

Norfolk County, 243, 249 {note). 

Norman, Goodman, 40 {tiote). 

Norris, 253. 

North, Lord, Chief Justice, 67. 

Norton, John, 248, 262, 269, 288. 

Nowell, Increase, 39, 40, 60, 62, 73. 85, 87, 108. 

Nye, Philip, 264. 

Oath of Allegiance, 7. 
Oath of Supremacy, 7, 53, 65. 
Old Colony, patent granted to Bradford for, 1 5. 

Oldham, John, 12; expelled from Plymouth, 13, 26, 2)Z> 38. 45- 48; recon- 
ciled, 96; killed by Indians, 130. 
Oliver, Thomas, 125; trial of, 149. 
Orme, Dr., 263 [note). 
Owen, Dr. John, 263. 

Palfrey's Hist., 8 {note), 261, 264, 265, 269 {note). 

Palfrey, Peter, 35, 40 {note). 

Parliament, i, 3, 56; dissolved, 57, 71, 98 {note), 122, 172, 178; Root and 

Branch Bill passed, 263, 267 ; controlled by Independents, 266. 
Parliament, the Long, its effect upon emigration and the colonies, 163, 

258; friendly relations of, with Mass., 271, 272. 
Palmer, Abraham, 40. 
Patrick, Capt., 78, 79, 157, 159. 
Patuxet, 22S. 
Pelham. 215. 
Pemaquid, 235. 
Penn, James, 78. 

Penobscot River, trading post on, 94. 1 59. 
Pequot Harbour, 159. 
Pequot River. Thames River, 155. 
Pequots, war with, 153 — 162. 
Perry, Richard, 39, 40, 60. 



INDEX. 343 

Peters, Hugh, 39, 43; arrival, 123, 124, 138; starts ship-building, 177 ; 179, 
261, 263 {note) ; private secretary to Cromwell, 269. 

Petition of Right, 57. 

Phillips, 68, 73, 74; removes to Watertown, 74; allowance, 77 ; heresy in 
Watertown, 87 — 90. 

Pierce, John, 7, 96. 

Pilgrim Church, 4, 6, 11, 17, 20. 

Pilgrims, 3, 8, 9, 10. 

Piscataqua, Portsmouth, 26, 38, 180; patent, 182. 

Piscataqua River, 26, 180. 

Plain Dealing, or News from New Eng., 215. 

Plantation, Cape Ann, 34, 35, 36; Naumkeag, 43, 50. 

Planters, 39, 40, 44; privileges, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50. 

Platform, Cambridge, The, 285; Church Discipline, 289; provisions and 
powers of, 290; officers, 291, 295; presented to Gen. Ct., and ap- 
proved, 296. 

Plymouth, Eng., 9, 67, 180. 

Plymouth, 3, 9 — 12, 13, 15; population of, 16, 18, 19, 49; arrival of Roger 
Williams, 84 ; called upon by Connecticut for aid, 1 54 ; furnishes 
men for Indian war, 160; boundary, 178, 217, 218; application to 
Mass. for ammunition, 250. 

Pomham, 229. 

Presbyterians, 258, 261 ; Scotch, 261, 264; alarmed at growth of Independ- 
ents, 265 ; in Eng., 266 ; in Parliament, 276. 

Presbyterian divines of Scotland, 17 {note). 

Prince, 75 {note). 

Privy Council, petition to, from Morton and others, 94, 95; change toward 
colonies, 102; power of Laud, 103; acts of, 104, 122, 171 ; seal, 104. 

Providence, 121, 228. 

Province Charter, including Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Maine, and 
Nova Scotia, 17 {note). 

Punishments, 96, 97. 

Pym, 273. 

Pyncheon, Wm., 39, 60, 62, 73; removes to Roxbury, 74, 108; settles 
Springfield, 183, 282. 

Quarter Courts, see Court, 207, 208. 

Quincy, 25, 135. 

Quo Warranto, 54; on Company in Eng., 164, 165, 166. 

Rainsborrow, Col., 270. 



344 INDEX. 

Rainsford, Lord, Chief Justice, 67. 

Ratcliff, 30, 94 ; punishment of, 96. 

Razilly, 234. 

Reformation, i, 2; cause in Eng. aided by Massachusetts Congregation- 

alists, 269. 
Reformers, i, 2, 70, 122, 173. 
Rehoboth, 17 {note). 
Representation, basis of, 243. 
Representatives, first elected, 99, 100. 
Resistance to Eng., preparations for, 105 — iii. 
Revell, John, 62. 

Rhode Island, charter, 67 ; application for powder, etc., 250. 
Richardson, Capt., 275, 276. 
Richmond's Isle, no {note). 
Rix, Wm., 188. 

Robinson, John, 3, 5, 6. 8, 11, 19, 22. 
Rogers, Ezekiel, 248, 252 ; preached at Synod, 288. 
Rogers, Nathaniel, 248. 
" Root and Branch " Bill, 263. 
Rossiter, Edw., 62. 
Roswell, Henry, 36, 2,7^ 39- 
Rotterdam, Hugh Peters obliged to leave, 124. 
Roxbury, 74, 92 ; people given permission to move to Conn., 114. 

Sabbath observance, 47; fine, 113; disturbed by Anne Hutchinson, 148. 

Saconoco, 229. 

Sacraments, controversy concerning, 11. 

Sagadahock River, see Kennebec. 

Salem, arrival of company from Cape Ann, 13; arrival of Conant, 
34, 35; dissatisfaction among the planters, 40, 41; population 
of, 50 ; arrival of the Lion, 67 ; ecclesiastical proceedings known 
in Eng., 69; arrival of the Arbella, 72; great mortality among 
the settlers, 74; death of Lady Arbella Johnson, 75; arrival of 
Roger Williams, 84 ; furnished with ordnance, loS ; return of 
Williams, 114; deputies refused at Gen. Ct., n8; ship built, 
177; local court established, 207, 240; meeting of representa- 
tives, 241. 

Saltonstall, Sir Richard, 39, 60 — 62, 68; moved to Watertown, 74; justice 
of the peace, 78; fined, 81 ; returned to Eng., 85; appeared for the 
colony at Whitehall, 94 ; appointed assistant, 209. 



INDEX. 345 

Sandwich, 17 [note). 

Sandys, Sir Edwin, 5. 

Sassacus, 161. 

Saugus, 108, 240. 

Saugus River, 38, 45. 

Say and Sele, Lord, 123, 164, 264, 273. 

Saybrook, fort at, 130, 153, 155; arrival of Mason, 160, 218; purchased by 

Conn., 281. 
Scituate, 92, 178. 
Scotch Covenanters, 172. 
Scotland, 17, 171. 
Scrooby, 3, 19. 
Scrugg, Thomas, 207 [note). 
Seamen, regulations of, 128. 
Sectaries, enlistment of, 265. 
Selectmen, 209. 
Separatists, origin of, 3; settled Plymouth, 3, 17, 49, 52^ Roger Williams, 

84. 
Sewall, Samuel, Chief Justice, 75 (note), 191. 
Sharp, Thomas, 44, 61, 82. 
Shawmut, see Boston, 28, 29. 
Shawomet, see Warwick. 
Sheffield, Lord, 32. 

Shepard, Rev. Thomas, 123; ordination of, 146, 269. 
Sherman, John, 181 (note). 
Sherman vs. Keayne, 244 — 246. 
Shrewsbury, Eng., 180. 
Simpson, Sidrack, 264. 

Skelton, Samuel, 18, 44, 49, 50, 51 ; death of, 114. 
Smith, John, 276. 
Smith, Ralph, 1 1 (note), 49. 
Somersetshire, Eng., 67. 
Southcoat, Thomas, 36. 
South Sea, 36. 
Sowans, see Warren. 

Springfield, 183; refuses to pay for duties on Conn. River, 282. 
St. Croix River, 234. 
St. Germaine, treaty of, 234. 
St. John, 264. 
St. Patrick, The, 127. 



34^ INDEX. 

Standish, Myles, demands possession of fishing stage at Cape Ann, 14; 
Capt. of Plymouth, 19, 20; kills three Indians at Wessagusset, 21 — 
23; proceeds to Merrymount, 26; arrival in Boston, 82. 

Star Chamber, 97. 

Stagg, Capt., captures vessel in Boston Harbour, 273 — 275. 

Stone, Capt., 130. 

Stone, Rev. Samuel, 96, i 56. 

Stoughton, Israel, Capt., 160, 161, 270. 

Stoughton, Judge, 213. 

Strafford, Earl of, 127. 

Strawberry Bank, see Portsmouth. 

Success, The, 6S, 72. 

Suffolk County, 243, 249 {note). 

Symonds, 248. 

Synod, conference of all the churches, 147, 148, 267; at Cambridge, 288, 
289, 294, 295. 

Talbot, The, 48, 49, 67, 72. 

Tax levied, 219. 

Thames River, 103, 155, 167. 

Thanksgiving Day, 82. 

Thompson, David, 30. 

Thompson's Island, 30. 

Tilley, John, 32. 

Tobacco, 41, 44, 45. 

Toleration, 2, 55, 70; not allowed, 151. 

Town clerk, 209. 

Town meetings, 186. 

Towns, schools, and social condition, 184. 

Trading post, Plymouth, 21,31; on Penobscot, 94. 

Tragabizanda, see Cape Ann. 

Transportation, etc., cost of, 184. 

Trial, The, 68, 72. 

Turner, Nathaniel, 207 (note). 

Tything men, 1S7. 

Uncas, 155. 

Underhill, Capt., 78, 79; ordered to collect money toward fort at Boston, 

106, 130; disfranchised, 150, 155, 156, 158. 
United Colonies of New Eng., 220, 227. 



INDEX. 347 

United States, 226. 

Upper Clapboard Island, 181 (note). 

Vane, Sir Harry, 122; arrival in Boston, 124, 125; elected Gov., 126; 
proposition to shipmasters, 128, 129; 136; desires to ret. to Eng., 
136, 137, 144; elected deputy, 145; ret. to Eng., 145, 146, 155, 261, 

273- 
Vassall, Samuel, 39, 60. 
Vassall, William, 60, 62 ; returned, 75, 276. 
Venn, John, 39, 62. 
Virginia, 21, 25, 50, 64. 
Virginia Company, North, 36, 37. 
Virginia Company, South, 36. 

Wakeman, The Church and the Puritans, 267. 

Walford, Thomas, 30, 41 ; ordered to depart, 85. 

Wampum, 174, 175. 

Ward, Rev. Nathaniel, 109, 195; prepared Body of Liberties, 198, 248. 

War of words between Scotch Presbyterian divines and Mass. Independent 

ministers, 269, 270. 
Warren, R. I., 121. 
Warwick, 229. 

Warwick, Earl of, 42, 273, 280, 28 1. 
Waterbury, 187. 
Watertown, 74; meeting of assistants, 82; strife in church, 87, 90, 96; 

people dispute right of assistants to tax, 89 ; people given permission 

to move to Conn., 1 14. 
Webb, Thomas, 40. 

Weld, Rev. Thomas, 92, 179 ; sent to Eng. to aid Independents, 268. 
Wessacumcon (Newbury), 114. 
Wessagussett, see Weymouth. 
West Indies, 64, 178. 

Westminster Assembly, 261, 264, 265; Confession of Faith, 296. 
Weston, Thomas, 7, 8, 20, 21, 22, 23. 
Wethersfield, 153. 
Weymouth, 21, 23, 25, 45, 240. 
Whale, The, 67, 72. 
Wheelwright, John, Rev., 133, 135; called to Mt. Wollaston, 135; trial 

of, 142; sentence deferred, 144; confuted in the Assembly, 148; 

banished, 149. 



348 INDEX. 

Whitcomb, Simon. 36, 60. 

White, attorney, 42, 48, 61. 

White, Rev. John, 13, 35, 39; Brief Relation, 40, 44. 

Whitehall, Court at, 94. 

Whitelock, 264. 

Willard, Simon, Capt., 181 {note). 

William and Francis, The, 68, 72. 

Williams, Roger, arrival at Boston, 84; removed to Salem, then to 
Plymouth, 84; 94 {note); ret. to Salem, 114; summoned before the 
Ct. of Ass., 115; charges against, 117, iiS; refuses to communicate 
with churches, 119; ordered to depart, 120; spends winter in R. I., 
121, 154 ; 22S. 

Wilson, John, Rev., 73, 74; ordination of, 76; ret. to Eng., 85; ret. to 
Mass., 92, 125, 138, 139, 160, 297. 

Wincob, John, 7. 

Windsor, 1 53. 

Winnapussakit, Lake, 181 {note). 

Winnington, 165. 

Winnisimmet, see Chelsea, 28, 73. 

Winslow, Edward, 11, 19, 20, 104; visit to Boston, 159, 160, 218. 

Winslow's Relation and Brief Narration, 20. 

Winthrop, John, 28, 29, 30, 54, 55, 61, 62, 64, 68; arrival, 72, 73, 75, 76, 
79; begins to build at Cambridge, 82, 85; complained of by Dudley, 
93, 100; gives ace. of money rec'd, 102, no, in ; writes to Eng.. 
104; war commissioner, 107, 108; reply to Gen. Ct., 118; ordi- 
nation of Mr. Shepard, 123 {note), 125; elected assistant for life, 
126; mention of Anne Hutchinson, 133; charges against Mr. 
Wheelwright, 135; chosen Gov., 144; invites Ley and Vane to dine, 
145; sends letters to Lords' Conim. for Plantations, 168, 180, 196, 
215, 218; on conference of commissioners, 218; on Gorton, 232; 
speech upon " negative note," 247 ; elected Dap. Gov., 248 ; on 
dispute between deputies and magistrates, 248, 249, 252; reelected 
Gov., 252; charged by Hingham men, 255; trial, 256, 257, 297; 
death of, 302 ; his influence, 302, 303. 

Winthrop, John. Jr., 91, 94, 160. 

Witchcraft, beginnings of in the colony. 297 ; first case, 298, 299, 300, 301 ; 
belief in, 301. 

Wituwamat, 23. 

WoUaston, Capt., 25. 

WoUaston, Mt., 135, 145. 



INDEX. 349 



Woodberry, John, 35, 40. 
Worcestershire, Eng., 19. 
Wright, Nathaniel, 39, 60, 62, 63 
Wright sent to England, '?)\ 

Yale, David, 276. 
Yarmouth, Eng., 68. 
Yarmouth, 17, 
Young, Sir John, 36. 



